India says new variant linked to COVID surge

(FASTNEWS | INDIA) – India has said a “double mutant variant” of the coronavirus first discovered there in March may be linked to a deadly second wave.

Samples containing the mutant – or B.1.617 variant – have been found in several states with high case numbers.

An official 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.