In a twist of event, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Wednesday denied reports of detection of first highly transmissible COVID-19 variant XE in Mumbai, official sources told India Today.
"FastQ files in respect of the sample, which is being said to be XE variant were analysed in detail by genomeic experts of insacog who have inferred that genomic constitution of this variant does not correlate with genomic picture of XE variant. Present evidence does not suggest that it is XE variant," the sources said in a statement.
Earlier today, the first case of XE was detected in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Besides, a case of the Kappa variant of coronavirus was also detected during a sero survey, a BMC official said, adding the results came in genome sequencing of 376 samples, the 11th batch of testing in the local genome sequencing lab.
Kappa cases have been found in the city earlier too, the official added.
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As per the sero survey, Omicron was found in 228 out of 230 samples (99.13 per cent) collected from Mumbai. One case was of XE, and another of Kappa.
The genome sequencing of 376 samples was conducted at the municipal Kasturba Hospital’s Genome Sequencing Lab.
The condition of the patients found infected with the new strains of the virus was not serious, the official said.
Mumbai on Tuesday reported 56 COVID-19 cases, a three-fold rise from a day earlier, which took the infection count in the country's financial capital to 10,58,185.
The death toll remained unchanged at 19,559 as no new fatality was recorded, while the recovery count rose by 36 to touch 10,38,356, leaving the metropolis with 270 active cases.
(With inputs from Sneha Mordani)