Covid case detected in Mumbai not XE variant, clarifies government

Hours after report of detection of XE variant of coronavirus in Mumbai, the Ministry of Health has said present evidence does not suggest the presence of the new variant.

Earlier in the day, reports suggested that the first case of 'XE', a sub-variant of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India had been detected in Mumbai.

A case of the Kappa variant was also detected during a sero survey, the official said, adding the results came in genome sequencing of 376 samples, the 11th batch of testing in the local genome sequencing lab.

As per the survey, Omicron variant was found in 228 out of 230 samples (99.13 per cent cases) from Mumbai, a civic health official said.

The genome sequencing of 376 samples was conducted at the municipal Kasturba Hospital's Genome Sequencing Lab.

Mumbai on Tuesday reported 56 COVID-19 cases, which is a three-fold rise from the addition to the tally a day earlier, taking the infection count here 10,58,185.