Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said that five people have been identified in Colombo who have contracted the B.1.617.2 strain of the corona virus.
The Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura said that this was discovered during a random Covid investigation in the Dematagoda area in Colombo.
The B.1.617.2 generation of the virus is a delta or Indian variant of COVID-19, which is the first time it has been detected in the Sri Lankan community, he said.
Dr. Jeewandara added that the transmission of the Kovid variety has been reported to be 50% faster than the B117 generation.
Saying that it is the most severe strain of the corona virus, Dr. Jeewandara said that this strain has been observed to avoid a single dose of the corona virus vaccine. This is the latest Kovid variety to be discovered in Sri Lanka. Alpha and Delta varieties have already been found in Colombo, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kuliyapitiya, Wariyapola, Habaraduwa, Tissamaharama, Karapitiya and Ragama.