Indian COVID-19 variant found in Zimbabwe By Tonderayi Mukeredzi in Harare, Zimbabwe | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2021-05-23 11:32 A man receives a certificate after being vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Wilkins Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 24, 2021. [Photo/Agencies] Zimbabwe became the latest African country to confirm the existence of the COVID-19 variant B.1.617, first detected in India last year. Vice-President and Minister of Health and Child Care Constantino Chiwenga confirmed that genomic test results conducted from a localized outbreak in Kwekwe in central Zimbabwe, linked to a traveler from India in April, revealed detection of the more lethal variant.