Advertisement
Coronavirus: India asks social media firms to remove references to ‘Indian variant’
- The B.1.617 strain, which was first identified country, has been classified by the WHO as a variant of global concern
- A letter from India’s information technology ministry says ‘there is no such variant of Covid-19 scientifically cited as such by the World Health Organization’
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
8
India’s information technology (IT) ministry has written to all social media companies asking them to take down any content that refers to an “Indian variant” of the coronavirus, according to a letter issued on Friday which was seen by Reuters.
The World Health Organization said on May 11 that the coronavirus variant B.1.617, first identified in India last year, was being classified as a variant of global concern.
The Indian government a day later issued a statement saying media reports using the term “Indian variant” were without any basis, saying the WHO had classified the variant as just B.1.617.
Advertisement
In a letter to social media companies on Friday, the IT ministry asked the companies to “remove all the content” that names or implies “Indian variant” of the coronavirus.
04:12
What do we know so far about the Covid-19 variants?
What do we know so far about the Covid-19 variants?
“This is completely FALSE. There is no such variant of Covid-19 scientifically cited as such by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO has not associated the term ‘Indian Variant’ with the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus in any of its reports,” stated the letter, which is not public.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x