Rajasthan keeps watch on new corona variant found in South Africa

JAIPUR: The pandemic situation in the state seems to be under control but a new variant found in South Africa has raised concerns. Health experts in the state say that the Delta variant had dominated the second wave and now, a third wave may emerge in case a new variant enters the state.

The health department is keeping an eye on the pandemic situation across the world, as it may affect the state as well. A health department official said that the new variant in South Africa has multiple mutations, which is why it may have increased transmissibility.

He added that the state has reported cases of variants such as alpha, kappa, delta and one sample has also tested positive for delta+. The state government has established a genome sequencing laboratory at Sawai Man Singh Medical College which is conducting the genome sequencing of samples of Covid patients of different parts of the state. The samples are sent by chief medical health officers of districts in the state for genome sequencing to ensure the virus has not mutated.