WHO says COVID-19 strain found in Vietnam not hybrid of two variants in India and UK

Medical staff take samples for COVID-19 testing in Hanoi

The World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that the COVID-19 strain that Vietnam says is a ‘hybrid’ between the two Indian and British strains is just an additional mutation of the coronavirus strain detected at present in India.

This confirmation was made by WHO Representative in Vietnam Mr. Kidong Park in an interview with Japan’s Nikkei newspaper on June 2 and published by international media on June 3.

Specifically, according to Mr. Kidong Park, there is no new hybrid variant in Vietnam at the moment based on WHO’s a definition. The variant detected in the Delta variant, with additional mutations and further monitoring required over the next few weeks.

However, Mr. Kidong Park reiterated that the Delta variant that was first detected in India and then appeared in many other countries around the world is a very dangerous variant because it is contagious and spreads very quickly.

On May 29, Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that a specialized agency in the industry discovered a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 likely a hybrid between the two strains in India and the UK Mr. Long said he would publish this strain on the world gene map.

Regarding the spread of COVID-19 in Vietnam, as of the evening of June 3, the Ministry of Health announced a total of 4,955 infections in the community on the fourth wave of the outbreak from April 27 to the present. Since the beginning of the pandemic from January 2020, there have been a total of 6,525 infections in the community, including 1,538 imported cases. The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Vietnam hit 49 cases.

Thoibao.de (Translated)

Source: https://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/news/vietnamnews/who-rules-out-new-hybrid-covid-19-variant-in-vietnam-06032021081814.html

Kasse animation 7.8.2023