What Is The "Double Mutant" Covid Strain Government Says Is In India

NDTV spoke exclusively to Dr Rakesh Mishra, the Director of Center For Cellular & Microbiology, in Hyderabad, where this particular variant was first sequenced

Alarm bells over a fresh spike in Covid cases in India - 1.35 lakh have been reported in the past 72 hours and the active caseload has increased for a 14th straight day - began ringing Wednesday as the government said a new "double mutant variant" of the virus, which detected first in Maharashtra's Nagpur in December last year, had now spread to 18 states. At a briefing this evening the Health Ministry said that, so far, the bulk of infections linked to this strain - around 20 per cent - have been reported from Maharashtra - 206 cases. Cases have also been reported from Delhi Gujarat and Punjab, among other places, the ministry added. So the big question now is this - what, exactly, is a "double mutation"? NDTV spoke exclusively to Dr Rakesh Mishra, the Director of Center For Cellular & Microbiology, in Hyderabad, where this particular variant was first sequenced.