Gujarat reports first case of Covid XE Variant after Mumbai, Know details

Ahmedabad: A person has been detected with Coronavirus variant XE in Gujarat, according to top sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The patient tested positive for Covid-19 on March 13 and recovered in a week.

Samples from Gujarat have been sent to NCDC, but from what we see this fits the definition of XE more than the Mumbai one,” the person cited earlier said on condition of anonymity.

An INSACOG laboratory in Gujarat, the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), has reportedly confirmed the variant.

Earlier, on March 6, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared that India’s first case of the XE variant had been detected in the city. Later, the health ministry informed that the present evidence does not suggest the presence of the new variant.

However, the virologists in India have said that it is not clear that the variant is strong enough to cause another COVID wave in the country even as they advised to remain cautious and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour.