Coronavirus April 7th Latest News: The news of a new Coronavirus subvariant finding its way in Mumbai, has caused a lot of panic and anxiety in people since yesterday, and understandably so. Although the Ministry of Health on Wednesday clarified that the present evidence does not suggest the presence of the new variant, there are still some doubts and concerns regarding the origin and transmissibility of this new variant. Keep reading to know more about this new variant.

What is XE variant?

It is known that the variant of concern Omicron is circulating around the world and has many sub-lineages. We have all heard of BA.1 and BA.2. WHO’s Covid-19 Technical Lead, Maria Van Kerkhove explains that the new variant XE, is the recombinant of both BA.1 and BA.2. “This is how the scientists classify this when they are doing their molecular epidemiology and actually tracking the changes of these variants. So XE is being classified under OMicron, and it is a combination of BA.1 and BA.2,” Kerkhove said.

Transmissibility of XE

Based on an initial analysis of available sequences, there is a slight growth advantage of this recombinant over BA.2, about a 10% increase in transmissibility, not ten times as has been reported by some. Kerkhove said that the WHO is analyzing XE with all available information and will continue to do so. “The analysis will be ongoing as we do with all variants. And again, this recombinant is classified under Omicron. So as information becomes available, we will update you as quickly as possible,” Kerkhove said.

Here are the latest top updates on the Covid situation in India and around the globe:

– Japan has included the COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN, as one of the recognised vaccines for 1st and 2nd dose with effect from 10th April to further facilitate travel from India to Japan, according to the Embassy of India in Japan.

– Kerala on Thursday reported 291 fresh Coronavirus cases and 36 Covid-related deaths, taking the total positives to 65,35,048 and the toll to 68,264. According to the health department, of the 36 deaths, one was reported today while one occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 34 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.

– Odisha recorded 28 new coronavirus cases today, taking the tally to 12,87,801. The death toll remained unchanged at 9,121 as there was no report of any fatality due to Covid. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which had gone Covid-free, have now reported a new coronavirus case, pushing the tally to 10,034, a health department official said on Thursday. The fresh patient was detected during contact tracing and is undergoing home isolation, reported PTI.

– According to the official data shared by the Ministry of Health today, India recorded 1,033 new coronavirus infections, taking the country’s total tally to 4,30,31,958, while the active cases dipped to 11,639. The death toll climbed to 5,21,530 with 43 fresh fatalities.

– The Ministry said that the active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent. A reduction of 232 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

– According to a new study, Covid infections in England climbed to a new record high with one in 16 or 6.37 per cent testing positive for COVID-19 last month — more than double the one in 35 reported in February, reported PTI.

– Maharashtra’s Thane district reported six new coronavirus positive cases, which took its infection count to 7,08,822, an official told PTI on Thursday. These cases were reported on Wednesday.

– Germany’s health minister on Wednesday said that the country will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch Covid-19, after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over.

– Mainland China reported 1,323 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 6, the country’s national health authority said on Thursday, compared with 1,415 a day earlier.