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16-03-2021
Bureau Report + Agencies
PARIS/ MUMBAI/ NEW DELHI: France has found a new coronavirus variant in the French region of Brittany, said the French health ministry in a statement late Monday.
According to media reports, the health ministry’s statement read that initial analysis did not show this new variant to be more serious or transmissible than others.
The health ministry said the new variant had been found in a cluster of cases in a hospital centre in Lannion.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron had said France will stop administering AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine as a “precaution” pending a new assessment by the European Union’s medicines regulator.
Macron’s decision came after a similar announcement by the German and Italian governments.
Meanwhile, after India reported 24,492 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 were expanded in parts of the country that have recorded a surge.
Total cases have now risen to 11.41 million, the highest in the world after the United States and Brazil. Deaths increased by 131 to 158,856 in the past 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed.
The government has blamed crowding and a general reluctance to wear masks for the spike, ruling out mutations of the virus as a factor, unlike in the West.
India’s worst affected state, Maharashtra, on Monday ordered cinemas, hotels, and restaurants to limit guests to half of the capacity until the end of the month. Weddings and other social events will also have limited attendance.
Maharashtra has also locked down some districts.
Another western state, Gujarat, has also decided to not allow fans into the world’s biggest cricket stadium hosting international matches here between India and England, after seeing a spurt in cases.
The initial matches were attended by tens of thousands of people sitting or standing shoulder to shoulder, with few wearing masks, leading to widespread criticism on social media.
India has vaccinated nearly 26 million people since beginning its inoculation campaign in mid-January. The country aims to vaccinate 300 million of its 1.35 billion people by August.
