The variant that caused over 400,000 cases and over 3,500 death daily has now spread to more countries in Africa.
Three more African countries that have announced the presence of the variant are, Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Four African countries had earlier confirmed the presence of the B.1.617 variant all linked with recent travel to India.
They are: Kenya, five cases; Morocco, two cases; South African, four cases; and Uganda, one case.
This brings to seven the number of African nations that have confirmed the B.1.617 mutation, which initial studies show spreads more easily than other variants
Dr Ngoy Nsenga, who co-ordinates the WHO’s Covid-19 response in Africa, told the BBC that the organisation was yet to get further details on the number of cases or travel history of the people who tested positive in Algeria, DR Congo and Nigeria.
The WHO has recently classified the Indian mutation, which was detected in October 2020, as a “variant of global concern”.
Nigeria’s Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapha had blamed foreign travellers who refused to obey the country’s isolation protocol, for the spread of the variant to Nigeria.