The highly transmissible B.1.617.2 variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Colombo.
Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said the Covid variant is 50% faster than that of the B 117 variant and is highly transmissible.
He further said the variant is more severe and evades one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
This is the latest variant of the coronavirus to be detected in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Dr. Jeewandara had revealed that multiple coronavirus variants, including the highly transmissible Alpha variant, had been detected in Sri Lanka.
The variants were found in Colombo, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kuliyapitiya, Wariyapola, Habaraduwa, Thissamaharama, Karapitiya and Ragama. (Colombo Gazette)
