WHO monitoring situation: New coronavirus strain B.1.640.2 discovered in France in November

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - World Health Organization (WHO) expert Abdi Mahamud said today that the WHO has been closely monitoring the new coronavirus strain B.1.640.2 since November, which was registered by scientists in France.

“There are three types of strains – those we monitor, those that cause interest, and those that cause concern,” Mahamud said at a briefing in Geneva, as reported by RIA Novosti.

He added that the WHO has been monitoring strain B.1.640.2 since November, as well as its two subvariants. According to Mahamud, the WHO will continue to monitor this strain, including its possible spread in other European countries.

Earlier, media reported that experts from the University Hospital in Marseille discovered a new coronavirus strain and temporarily named it B.1.640.2. According to initial data, 12 people in southern France were infected with this strain. A returnee from Cameroon was identified as patient zero, CdM reports.