A case of XE, a sub-variant of Omicron that may be the most transmissible strain of the coronavirus has been detected in Gujarat.
India removed all the COVID-19 related restrictions from April 1 following a downfall in daily cases.
The XE variant was detected in a 67-year-old man who had travelled to Vadodara from Mumbai and had tested positive during his stay at a hotel on March 12.
The patient tested positive for Covid-19 on March 13 and recovered in a week.
After genome-sequencing, it has been discovered that the patient was infected with the XE variant of coronavirus. According to reports the sample will be re-examined to confirm that it is the XE variant.
The new variant, XE, is a mutant hybrid of two versions of Omicron – BA.1 and BA.2. It only accounts for a small fraction of cases across the globe at the moment.
It appears to be around ten per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, as per the World Health Organisation.