India detects 'double mutant' coronavirus variant in western state

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask walks past a graffiti amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on a street in Navi Mumbai, India, March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

India has detected a "double mutant variant" of the novel coronavirus in 206 samples in the worst-hit western state of Maharashtra, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The new variant was also detected in nine samples in the capital New Delhi, the director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Sujeet Kumar Singh, told a news conference.

A woman reacts as she receives a dose of COVISHIELD coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at an auditorium that has been converted into a temporary vaccination centre in Ahmedabad, India, March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Neha Arora; Editing by Andrew Heavens)