Delhi CM urges experts to suggest necessary steps in view of new Covid variant

In view of the threat from a new COVID variant from African countries, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he has requested experts to make a presentation to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and suggested necessary steps in this regard.

"In view of the threat from new COVID variant from African countries, we have requested experts to make a presentation to DDMA on Monday and suggest what steps we should take. We will take all steps necessary to protect you and your family," Kejriwal tweeted.

Newly identified COVID-19 variant --- B.1.1.529 --- is causing an increase in new COVID-19 infections in South Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a special meeting to discuss the new Covid variant.

"We don't know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's the technical lead on Covid-19, said in a briefing.

( With inputs from ANI )