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The Republic of Cyprus has been notified by ECDC that a number of coronavirus cases have tested positive for a mutation known as the Indian variant, believed to be twice as dangerous but others say not so.
(Click here for an update to the story)
According to the Cyprus News Agency, four COVID cases back in April tested positive for the B.1.617 new variant of coronavirus, known as the “double mutant” first identified in India.
Third country nationals traveling from a country not included in the Green, Orange, or Red categories are required to obtain a special permit before flying to the island and quarantine for 14 days
The information was provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which notified Cypriot health officials that four cases had the Indian mutation, along with two cases infected with the South African and 131 tesgint positive for the British variant.
CNA also reported that the Indian and South African variants were found in travelers who reached the island back in April on special permission status.
Three of them came from India, one from Pakistan, one from the Philippines, and one from Nepal, all of whom had been taken to quarantine hotels and isolated for 14 days.
Third country nationals traveling to the Republic of Cyprus from a country not included in the Green, Orange, or Red categories are required to obtain a special permit before flying to the island, while Cypriot citizens and legal residents traveling from the same locations are not required to get a permit.
Scientists say the Indian variant has double the number of mutations as some earlier variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, prompting health officials to raise concern it might make it twice as dangerous.
But a number of health experts have suspected the B.1.617 may not be the main reason behind India’s catastrophic surge this spring, pointing instead to New Delhi’s premature lifting of pandemic restrictions too quickly at a time when very few people in that country had been vaccinated.
