Two Travellers Test Positive For Unidentified Covid-19 Variant In Israel: Report

New Delhi: A new variant of Covid has reportedly been found in Israel as per local media there. Several local media outlets quoted Israel's Health Ministry announcement about two people returning from abroad and testing positive for an unidentified Covid variant. The variant was detected after the two travellers were made to take a PCR test at Ben-Gurion International airport. The symptoms of the unidentified variant, however, seemed quite similar to the known variants such as headache, fever, and body aches. 

Professor Salman Zarka, Israel's Covid head, told local Israeli publication Haaretz that the patients who were in their 30s had contracted the virus from their infant son. He explained the ambiguity of the Covid variant by citing the linking of two virus variants and termed it as a common phenomenon. 

Meanwhile, India is still practising caution when it comes to Covid-19. Recently, the Centre requested six states, namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka to be cautious about the spread of a possible localised spread of Covid-19 infection. The states have been asked to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Amid the rise in other infections as well such as the H3N2 virus, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan cited changing weather conditions and behavioural reasons to explain the rising cases of influenza. 

"While influenza is an annual seasonal occurrence, in the present season, a variety of weather conditions and behavioural reasons -- less than adequate attention to personal hygiene, coughing without adequate protection, closed indoor gatherings of people, etc. -- make the environment conducive to the circulation of a number of viral respiratory pathogens like Influenza A (H1N1, H3N2 etc.) and adenoviruses", he said.