JERUSALEM, Apr 17 (NNN-MA’AN) – Seven cases of a new “double mutant” variant of COVID-19 were detected in Israel, the country’s Ministry of Health said yesterday.
This is the B.1.617 variant, that was recently identified in India, and now it has been detected for the first time in Israel.
The seven cases were diagnosed by genetic sequencing tests, in unvaccinated Israelis that returned from abroad, the ministry noted.
“There is still no clear information regarding the variant and its implications for the vaccinated and the recovered,” the ministry added.
Earlier yesterday, an official of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said at a press conference in Geneva that, the B.1.617 variant could bring about “increased transmissibility.”
The Indian Health Ministry recently issued an official statement, saying that, the variant could increase rates of infection and bypass immune defences.
