WHO: new virus strain ‘XE’ could be most transmissible, found in UK

A new Covid variant has been found in the UK, the World Health Organisation said in its latest report. The new mutant, called XE may be more transmissible than any strain of COVID-19. According to the global health body, early studies indicate this could be the most transmissible coronavirus strain so far, with a growth rate advantage of 10 per cent as compared to BA.2, one of the very contagious variants.The Omicron variant, which had driven the third wave in India, comprises four lineages, including B.1.1.529, BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.“The XE recombinant was first detected in the United Kingdom on 19 January and >600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," read the WHO report.

Meanwhile, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is spreading rapidly across the globe. Some 4.9 million people in the UK are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week ending March 26, or 600,000 more than the previous week, the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics said. US and China also reported a surge in Covid cases driven by the BA.2 variant. China reported nearly 104,000 domestic Covid infections in March, with 90 percent of the recent cases found in Shanghai or northeastern Jilin province.