A new sub-variant of Corona Virus XBB has been detected for the first time in Nepal. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the variant was detected in a Nepali recently. The sub-variant was detected during genome sequencing conducted at the National Public Health Laboratory.

The Ministry said that the new sub-variant of Omicron was detected during genome sequencing of some samples collected from the people of various age groups from August 6 to September 30.

According to the World Health Organization, this variant has already been detected in 26 countries of the world. It has been said that this variant is more contagious than other variants detected in the past. Assistant spokesperson at the Ministry Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said, “This variant has been spreading in other countries and the new Covid-19 cases have also been increasing in recent times.” He urged all the people to take precautions while celebrating the upcoming festivals.