South African, Indian variants of COVID-19 found in KP patients

The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday confirmed to have detected the Indian and the South African variants of the novel coronavirus in Peshawar.

According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Secretary  Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, one patient was found to be infected with the Indian variant of the virus, while the South African variant was detected in two other patients. 

All three patients, as per the health secretary, had arrived in the province from the UAE, adding that they are residents of Peshawar. At the time of passengers' arrival, a test for COVID-19 was performed and samples obtained from them were sent to Islamabad for testing. 

The provincial health secretary said that person the person infected with the Indian variant was 41 years old, while the other two patients, infected with the South African variant, were 18 and 38 years old, respectively. 

The health secretary added that both the variants have the potential to spread rapidly and are dangerous. He, therefore, urged the masses to strictly follow the government's mandated coronavirus standard operating procedure (SOPs).