Coronavirus: Delta remains dominant strain in Cyprus, no Mu yet

Delta continues to be the dominant Covid-19 variant in Cyprus, the health ministry said on Saturday after the latest sequencing results on samples of people found positive for the virus in recent weeks.

The Mu variant, the latest, has not been detected in Cyprus yet, the ministry said.

The Delta variant was detected in 224 samples sent for sequencing, of people found positive from the beginning of July until August 15. The samples were sent to a specialised lab abroad as part of the programme of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

(ECDC) helping states  in the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The British variant was detected in three samples collected in the first week of June while another variant (Β.1.351) not among the variants of interest or concern was detected in one sample collected in the last week of June.

“The new results clearly confirm that the Indian mutation is completely prevalent in the community,” the ministry said. “It is also interesting that from June 28 to August 13 the Delta variant prevailed 100 per cent in the Republic of Cyprus,” it added.

Regarding the Mu variant, it has not been identified in Cyprus at the moment.

The health ministry said this variant, according to the ECDC and the World Health Organisation is one of interest (VOI) and not of concern (VOC). The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not classified it for the time being either as VOI or VOC, it added.