795 UK, Brazil, South Africa Virus Variant Cases In India, 395 In 5 Days

Today Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh flagged the spread of the UK variant in his state - 81 per cent of 401 samples have been identified as the B117 strain

UK, South African and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus have infected 795 people in India so far, the Health Ministry said Tuesday afternoon. The spike in infections by mutant strains - up from 400 on March 18, an increase of nearly 50 per cent in five days - comes amid a surge in fresh Covid cases across India over the past few weeks. Furthermore, of the 395 new mutant virus cases reported since March 18, at least 326 are from Punjab and have been identified as the strain that originated in the United Kingdom late last year. This morning Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh flagged the spread of the UK variant in his state - genome sequencing of 81 per cent of around 400 samples identified the B117 strain.