After 145 days, India reported over 20,000 cases; a strong indication that people should stay on guard to protect themselves from the pandemic. According to the latest updates, the number of active infections has climbed to 1,36,076. Meanwhile, fresh reports suggest that the Covid variant that is driving the fresh wave in India could be 'Centaurus,' scientifically known as BA.2.75.
Centaurus: All you need to know
The Centaurus variant of the Covid pandemic was first discovered in India in May, and it has already reached countries like the UK. The latest country where the Centaurus variant has been detected is the Netherlands.
According to virologists, the Centaurus variant is highly transmissible when compared to the BA.5 variant. Even though the severity associated with the Centaurus variant is unknown, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has already designated it a ''variant under monitoring."
The WHO is also analyzing the severity of the new variant. WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan recently said that there were not yet enough samples to assess the severity of the Centaurus variant.
Virologists express concern over new variant
"It's hard to predict the effect of that many mutations appearing together – it gives the virus a bit of a 'wildcard' property where the sum of the parts could be worse than the parts individually. It is definitely a potential candidate for what comes after BA.5. Failing that, it's probably the sort of thing we'll have come along next, ie a 'variant of a variant'," said Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, who was the first to identify Omicron as a potential concern back in November 2021, The Guardian reports.
As the new variant of the pandemic spreads scare, people should understand that Covid is not over, and it is very much necessary to follow social distancing measures to stay away from the infection.
