India played down new mutant Covid strains to avoid panic – but this may have backfired

India is currently in the middle of a ferocious second wave, recording 1,61,736 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country in the world. One of the factors propelling the second wave is the emergence of a new, fast-spreading Indian variant of the virus. It is being called a “double mutant” variant because it has two mutations. It has been found in 61% of samples put through genome sequencing in Maharashtra, the worst hit state in India, as the Indian Express reported on April 14, strengthening suspicions that the current surge is powered by a more transmissible strain. Labelled B.1.617, the double mutant variant was first detected in India, but has been now found in eight countries, with 70% of samples containing the mutations originating from India.