Only one strain of Covid-19 variant found in India of concern, says WHO

Variants no longer classified as Variants of Concerns or Variants Of Interests will continue to be monitored as part of overall evolution of SARS-CoV-2

Only one strain of a Covid-19 variant first detected in India was now considered "of concern", World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its weekly epidemiological update on the pandemic. The other two strains have been downgraded.

The B.1.617 variant--blamed for the surge in Covid-19 case in India--is divided into three lineages: B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3.  The UN health agency last month declared the entire strain a "variant of concern", or VOC. On Tuesday, it said only one of the sub-lineages deserved that label.

"With updated information, B.1.617.2 remains a VOC and labeled variant Delta – we continue to observe significantly increased