Chennai: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday issued a warning against a new mutant 'XE' variant and noted that it may be more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron.

The new variant was detected in the UK and said it was a mutant hybrid of the two previous versions of the Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2.

According to reports, XE is extremely transmissible and is also said to be the most dominant strain in the near future.

XE was first detected on January 19 and 637 cases of the new variant have been reported yet.

"Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation," it added.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS) Director Rakesh Mishra said, people should not shun Covid safety measures yet as pandemic seems far from over.

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