Experts believe the new XBB.1.16 strain is the reason new cases have increased 13-fold in the past month
A new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 is causing another spike in cases, health officials warn.
Arcturus, a subspecies of Omicron, is currently passing through India, and hospitals have been alerted and masks have been re-introduced. Experts believe that the new strain XBB.1.16 is the reason that new cases of COVID-19 increased 13 times in the last month, writes “Telegraph”.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) technical lead for COVID-19, said: “The new strain has been circulating for several months. It has an additional mutation in the spike protein, which in laboratory studies shows increased infectivity as well as potentially increased pathogenicity.”
Dr Van Kerkhove added that while XBB.1.16 has been detected in other countries, most cases have been reported in India. This week, the number of cases in the country rose by 3,122 in one day. This comes after the country’s health ministry recorded 40,215 positive tests for April 12.
The WHO reported that more than 500,000 new cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,000 deaths related to the disease were recorded from April 3 to April 10.
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