Omicron variant found in NCR, likely to have caused spike in Covid cases

BA.2.12.1 is a variant of the virus's Omicron strain and was found in 60% of total samples tested in Delhi

A new mutant variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, has been detected in the National Capital Region (NCR), according to official sources. BA.2.12.1 was found in 60 per cent of the total samples tested in Delhi.

The Union Health Ministry did not confirm the development on Thursday. Majority of the samples sequenced from Delhi in the first two weeks of April have shown presence of BA.2.12 variant, an Omicron sub-lineage. An Indian Sars-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) source claimed that BA.2.12.1 has been found in some of the samples that were sequenced in Delhi.

Sources also claimed that the