The Indian government has said that a double mutant variant of the coronavirus, first discovered there in March, may be linked to the deadly second wave surge there.
Samples containing the mutant or B.1.617 variant have been found in several states with high number of cases.
An official associated with the National Centre for Disease Control said, however, that they had still been unable to “fully” establish a correlation.
A double mutant is when two mutations come together in the same virus.
The B.1.617 variant was found in several states reporting a surge including Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.
For more than a month, Delhi insisted that the B.1.617 variant had no link to the current surge.
Speaking at a health ministry news briefing, K VijayRaghavan admitted that experts had not anticipated the “ferocity” of the surge in cases.
“Phase three is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus,” he added during a news briefing. “But it is not clear on what timescale this phase three will occur… We should prepare for new waves.”
Officials have also denied that the rise in cases is linked to the British, South African and Brazilian mutations.
The current surge of the virus has already overwhelmed the healthcare system with hospital beds, oxygen and even crematorium space in short supply.
Meanwhile, infections in India hit another grim daily record on Thursday as demand for medical oxygen jumped seven-fold and the government denied reports that it was slow in distributing life-saving supplies from abroad.
The number of new confirmed cases breached 400,000 for the second time since the devastating surge began last month. The 412,262 cases pushed India’s tally to more than 21 million. The Health Ministry also reported 3,980 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 230,168. Experts believe both figures are an undercount.
