KEY STORY
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Amid reports of an imminent third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looming over everyone due to a new strain of the Covid-19 strain originating in Singapore, the country’s Ministry of Health has refuted the claims and said that “there is no truth in such assertions”.
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The Singapore government on Tuesday said that the reports in Indian media about the presence of a new variant in the country are untrue, and that there is no ‘Singapore variant’.
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The statement comes in the backdrop of remarks by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that the new strain could be potentially devastating as it reportedly affects children.
“There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. There is no ‘Singapore variant’. The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore,” the Singapore statement said.
There is no truth in the assertion that there is a new COVID strain in Singapore. Phylogenetic testing has shown that the B.1.617.2 variant is the prevalent strain in many of the COVID cases, including in children, in recent weeks in Singapore.https://t.co/uz0mNPNxlE https://t.co/Vyj7gyyzvJ
— Singapore in India (@SGinIndia) May 18, 2021
It is believed that the new strain, found in many Covid-19 cases recently, is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India.
The Delhi CM had requested the central government yesterday to immediately suspend flights to and from Singapore because of the new variant that allegedly affects children. He said that the new strain from Singapore could potentially cause a third wave of infections here in India.
“The new COVID variant in Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave. My appeal to the central government: 1. Air services with Singapore to be cancelled with immediate effect2. Priority on vaccine options should be worked out for children too,” Kejriwal said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Politicians should stick to facts!
There is no “Singapore variant”. https://t.co/SNJaF7wkwC https://t.co/pNgw4bkV4H— Vivian Balakrishnan (@VivianBala) May 19, 2021