No Truth Behind It: Singapore Embassy Reacts to Kejriwal's Remark on New Coronavirus Strain

The Singapore Embassy in India on Tuesday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his statement on a new coronavirus strain being detected in Singapore, saying that there was no truth supporting his remark.

“There is no truth in the assertion that there is a new COVID strain in Singapore. Phylogenetic testing has shown that the B.1.617.2 variant is the prevalent strain in many of the COVID cases, including in children, in recent weeks in Singapore,” the embassy said in a tweet.

Earlier during the day, Kejriwal had appealed to the Central government to immediately cancel all air services with Singapore, saying a new strain of coronavirus there is said to be “very dangerous” for children. This new strain of virus could invade India in the form of a third wave, he said in a tweet.

“The new form of coronavirus in Singapore is said to be very dangerous for children. It could reach Delhi in the form of a third wave. My appeal to the Central government: 1. Cancel all air services with Singapore with immediate effect 2. Work on vaccine alternatives for children on a priority basis,” Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

Many other countries including the United Kingdom have reported a spike in infections since mid-April with the B.1.617.2 variant making up the majority of new cases.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on Monday called on the UK government to expand the vaccination programme to younger age groups in the hotspot areas of the B1.617.2 variant of COVID-19 first identified in India to clamp down on the rapid rise in infections from the highly transmissible mutation.

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