When the country reopened in January, public complacency gripped India. Experts have said it to be one of the biggest contributing factors to explain the second wave.
The virus had the opportunity to mutate and as a result, new strains of the coronavirus were detected in the month of March and April. A new double mutant strain, which is now most commonly found in India, has been detected in 80 percent of the cases. It is said to be the possible culprit.
Even though the Centre hasn’t confirmed it yet, genome sequencing has indicated otherwise. The double mutant strain is said to have a higher transmission rate by 20 percent and a reduced antibody efficacy by more than 50 percent.
A new triple mutant of the virus is also doing the rounds in West Bengal, reported The Times of India.
As the COVID numbers are driving the charts vertically, the “Bengal variant”, as dubbed by TOI, may be a cause of worry as the state which is still left with two phases of polling for Assembly…
