The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that no new variant of coronavirus, other than the previously confirmed ones, has been detected in Nepal, refuting the claims of British tabloid Daily Mail.
“WHO is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal. The three confirmed variants in circulation are Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2),” the WHO clarified on Twitter.
WHO’s clarification comes hours after the Daily Mail published that the “foreign holidays are under threat because ministers are worried about a new COVID variant” from Nepal. While the headline of the article said, “Nepal Variant Threat To Our Holidays.”
“Scientists have alerted ministers to the mutant strain – thought to have originated in Nepal – which has apparently spread to Europe. They fear the strain is resistant to vaccines,” reported the paper.
Likewise, The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) denied the claims of detection and presence of a new coronavirus strain in the country.
“So far, no new variant has been detected. We have confirmed three variants only,” said MoHP Assistant Spokesperson Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari, adding that the government would proactively study in such cases.
Earlier on May 18, the MoHP confirmed that Alpha, Delta, and Kappa variants were detected through a gene sequencing conducted at CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in India.
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