Singapore says no truth in Kejriwal s claim of new Covid strain
The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India, Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in its website.
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NEW DELHI: Singapore’s health ministry has refuted claims of a Singapore variant of Covid-19. This was in response to news reports which said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the Centre to stop flights from Singapore because of a ‘new COVID strain’.
“The Ministry of Health refers to the reports ..on 18 May 2021 (“Stop Singapore Flights: Arvind Kejriwal to Centre Over New COVID Strain”),” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in its website. “There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. There is no “Singapore variant”.
SINGAPORE - Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has rebutted claims by a politician in India, which were carried by several media outlets, of a new Covid-19 strain in Singapore.
“There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. There is no ‘Singapore variant’,” an MOH spokesman said on Tuesday (May 18).
“The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B16172 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B16172 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore,” the spokesman added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had, in a Twitter post in Hindi earlier on Tuesday, called on India’s government to cancel flights with Singapore, and claimed a “new strain” of Covid-19 could result in a third wave of infections in India.
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image captionSingapore has been battling a recent uptick in cases
Singapore s government has said there is no truth to an assertion by Delhi s chief minister that a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the city state.
Delhi s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had called for a halt to flights, saying a new Singapore strain was extremely dangerous for children .
He added that it could result in a third wave of the infection in India.
Singapore s ministry of health has reacted strongly to the claims. The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India. Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore, Singapore s Ministry of Health said in a statement.
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Photo: ANI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday created controversy after as he said a new strain of coronavirus has been found in Singapore, which is very dangerous for children. He also urged the Centre to immediately cancel all air services with Singapore. Taking to Twitter, he had written, The new COVID variant in Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave. My appeal to the central government: 1. Air services with Singapore to be cancelled with immediate effect 2. Priority on vaccine options should be worked out for children too.