Will New COVID Variant XE Cause 4th Wave in India? Here’s What TIGS Chief Says

COVID Fourth Wave Latest News Today: Dr Rakesh Mishra said there is no indication present at the moment to highlight that this new variant can cause a wave in India.

Delhi Covid fourth wave latest update — Delhi is witnessing an uptick in COVID cases in April 2022.

New Delhi: Hours after the World Health Organisation warned that a COVID variant XE has been detected in the UK which is more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society chief Rakesh Mishra on Saturday urged the people of the country not to panic and closely monitor the development of the variant.

Speaking to ANI, Rakesh Mishra said that the new mutant XE emerged for the first time in mid-January, but he believes that there is no need to push a ‘panic button’. “So far, only 600 cases have been reported across the world. But we need to keep a close watch on it,” he added.

Will it cause COVID 4th wave in India? Rakesh Mishra categorically said there is no indication that it can cause a wave of COVID again in India. “No indication is present at the moment highlighting that this new variant is so strong that it can cause a wave. We need to wait for some more time to make comments on how transmissible it can be,” he added.

However, he stressed that all should take safety measures to curb the spread of the virus and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour.

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Saying that certain section of the society seems to be eager to declare that the pandemic is over, he said people should follow guidelines by using masks, administering vaccines as per rules and avoiding unnecessary clustering in crowded spaces.

Earlier in the day, the WHO in its latest report said a new COVID mutant namely ‘XE’ has been found in the UK and noted that it may be more transmissible than the BA.2 sublineage of COVID-19.

According to WHO, XE is recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 sublineages of COVID-19. “The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19 and >600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since,” the WHO said.