No case of new Covid variant in India so far; Israel detects one

No case of the new Covid-19 variant, which has significantly high number of mutations, has been reported in India so far, news agency ANI reported on Friday citing officials.

Earlier, the Indian health ministry had urged states to launch rigorous screening and testing for all international travelers coming from or transiting through Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong as these countries have reported multiple cases of new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) variant 8.1.1529.

However, according to a report by AFP, Israel has identified a case of a Covid-19 variant, first detected in South Africa, the health ministry said Friday.

“The variant discovered in southern African states has been identified in Israel,” the health ministry said, adding it was recorded “in a person who returned from Malawi,” with “two more cases of people returning from abroad” placed in quarantine.

It comes one day after scientists in South Africa said they had detected a new Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers, the report said.