COVID-19 News Updates

XE, the latest mutant of Omicron may be more transmissible than the previous ones, the World Health Organization has said.

While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.25 per cent, the weekly positivity rate was at 0.23 per cent, according to the health ministry.

A new strain of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, appears to be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said.

The administration of precaution dose to those above the age of 18 years will be through private vaccination centres and the drive would start from April 10, 2022.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was 0.23 per cent, according to the health ministry.

As per World Health Organisation (WHO), XE variant of Covid-19 is 10 per cent more infectious than other sub-variants of Omicron-- BA.1 and BA.2

US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 80,289,237 and 984,571 respectively, according to the CSSE.

It forms clusters as it successfully spreads to people, and this gets noticed during genome sequencing. Only these successful sublineages make news which are given names like XD, XE etc.

The findings of the study, conducted in February this year after isolating the Omicron variant, have been published in the Journal of Infection on April 5.

In the study, the team analysed blood samples from patients with Covid and compared these with samples from healthy people and patients with other respiratory conditions.

Covid-19 XE Variant In India: Should We Be Worried

The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.22 per cent, however, the daily positivity rate is also reported to be 0.21 per cent.

US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 80,248,986 and 983,797 respectively, according to the CSSE.

The clarification came shortly after reports, citing the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), claimed that a female costumes designer of South African origin has been found to be infected with the new XE variant in the city.

The 50-year-old costumes designer, whose identity has not been disclosed, was part of a film shooting crew which arrived here from South Africa on February 10.