The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday (September 20, 2020) stated that there has been no significant mutation in SARS-CoV-2 (a virus that causes COVID-19) in India and also informed that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is exploring the saliva-based COVID-19 test. Harsh Vardhan while interacting with his social media followers through 'Sunday Samvaad platform' said, "No significant or drastic mutations have been found in strains of SARS-CoV-2 in India (available in GISAID, global database), till now." He added that the ICMR has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus collected in the past several months over different time-points and detailed results on mutations and evolution of the virus will be available by early October. He stated that ICMR is actively exploring this test method and will inform as soon as reliable options are available. It underlines the commitment of the Government for increased investments in Public Health and other health reforms to prepare India for future pandemics," said Harsh Vardhan.

Source: dna September 20, 2020 13:18 UTC