Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has revealed six different variants of the COVID-19 virus are currently spreading in the Maldives.
Speaking at a press conference, Spokesperson of HEOC Dr. Fathimath Nazla Rafeeq said the variants detected in the Maldives include the variants from the UK and India, noting these two variants are the fastest spreading variants in the Maldives. As such, Dr. Nazla revealed 27% of the samples sent for gene sequencing had the Delta variant which was first detected in India, while 20% samples had the Alpha variant which was first detected in the UK. She added 13% samples had the G variant, while the rest of the samples had three more types of variants.
Formation of new variants of a virus obstructs the efforts to contain the spread of a disease. It also increases the danger of the disease, as different variants attack the body in different ways. It also reduces the efficiency of vaccines.