Covid XE Variant Not Lethal, Infected Man Asymptomatic: Maharashtra Minister

The Maharashtra health minister said three other persons in Gujarat who came in contact with the man infected with the Covid XE variant tested negative and without the (XE) sub-variant.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said that Omicron sub-variant XE is not lethal and the only case detected in the state of an elderly man is asymptomatic.

Talking to media persons in Jalna, Mr Tope said a 67-year-old man and his wife who had been in Mumbai tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat last month.

"The man had arrived from London on March 6 and came in contact with two Britishers. On March 11, he experienced a mild fever. On March 12, he was tested during his stay in Vadodara and the sample was sent for genome sequencing to the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre," Mr Tope said.

The health minister further said that the elderly man developed a fever on March 13 and returned to Mumbai the following day.