Singapore's Ministry of Health rebutted claims of a 'Singapore variant' of the coronavirus, saying there is "no truth whatsoever" in the assertions.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday rebutted claims of a "Singapore variant" of the coronavirus, saying there is "no truth whatsoever" in the assertions found within the reports.
The reports referred to by MOH are Hindustan Times ("Coronavirus variant found in Singapore can be India's 3rd wave, extremely dangerous for kids, warns Arvind Kejriwal") and NDTV ("Stop Singapore Flights: Arvind Kejriwal To Centre Over New Covid Strain"), both published on Tuesday.
"There is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports. There is no 'Singapore variant'," MOH said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.
"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 statement read.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to immediately cancel all air services with Singapore, saying the 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.
In a tweet today, Kejriwal said, "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 canceled with immediate effect2. Priority on vaccine options should be worked out for children too."
In this regard, the Delhi Chief Minister had requested the Central government to immediately suspend air services with Singapore and to work out vaccination options for children on priority.
After Kejriwal's appeal, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri replied that the Centre is taking all precautions and keeping an eye on the situation in Singapore. "Kejriwal ji, all international flights have been stopped since March 2020. We have no air bubble with Singapore either," Puri said on Twitter.
"We are still keeping an eye on the situation. All precautions are being taken," Puri noted.
As per media reports, Singapore will shut schools from Wednesday as the authorities concerned have warned that new coronavirus strains, such as the one first detected in India, were affecting more children.
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