The WHO classifies the three-fold mutated Covid variant from India as a global health risk

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will attend a press conference at WHO headquarters on July 3, 2020, organized by the United Nations’ Association of Geneva Correspondents (ACANU) in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus was organized in Geneva.

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A World Health Organization official said Monday that the highly contagious triple mutant variant of Covid that is widespread in India is being classified as a “worrying variant” on a global scale.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director for Covid-19, said the agency would provide more details in its situation report on Tuesday. However, preliminary studies found that the variant known as B.1.617 spreads more easily than the original virus and that there is some evidence that it can evade vaccines.

“And as such, we classify this as a variance of concern on a global scale,” she said during a press conference. “Although some preliminary studies have shown increased transferability, we need much more information about this virus variant in that line in all sublines, so we need to do more targeted sequencing.”

The WHO announced last week that it is closely tracking at least 10 coronavirus variants worldwide, including the B.1.617. The variant was previously called the “variant of interest” because more study was needed to fully understand its meaning, Van Kerkhove said.

“For everyone in the home, this means that any circulating SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect and spread you, and anything to do with that is worrying,” she said on Monday. “So, all of us at home, no matter where we live, no matter what virus is circulating, we need to make sure we take all necessary measures to keep us from getting sick.”

Some believe the variant is behind the recent wave of infections in India.

The country averages 3,879 Covid deaths per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, although media reports suggest the official number is underestimated. Over the past seven days, an average of 391,000 new cases per day have been reported – an increase of about 4% from a week, data from Johns Hopkins shows.

The variant has since expanded to other countries, including the United States.

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