The B.1.617.2 variant of coronavirus, which was first found in India, will be called the Delta variant, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. As per the health agency, all the variants of the COVID-19 virus have been named in Greek letters. While the B.1.617.2 found in India is named Delta, B.1.1.7 found in America is Alpha, B.1.351 found in South Africa is named Beta and the variant P.1 found in Brazil is named Gamma. The purpose of naming the coronavirus variants as Greek letters is to prevent association of these variants as the names of countries.

Source: dna May 31, 2021 17:03 UTC