Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has said that the Covid strain found is Singapore is different from the one found in India. Jain categoricaclly stated that it is "wrong to say that there is no Singapore strain".
His reaction came after Singapore rejected Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's claim that a 'very dangerous' strain of the coronavirus was prevalent in island city-state and that could affect children the most. Singapore's diplomatic mission tweeted that there is no truth in the assertion of Kejriwal, adding that there is no Singapore variant.
"There is no Singapore variant. The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore," the Ministry said in a statement.
"The new form of coronavirus in Singapore is said to be very dangerous for children. It could reach Delhi in the form of a third wave. My appeal to the Central government: 1. Cancel all air services with Singapore with immediate effect 2. Work on vaccine alternatives for children on a priority basis," the Delhi Chief Minister had said in a tweet on Tuesday.
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