India has detected a new “double mutant variant” of the novel coronavirus, the health ministry said on Wednesday, adding to concern as the government struggles with the highest single-day tally of new infections and deaths this year. Healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collect swab samples from men during a rapid antigen testing campaign for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at an auditorium turned into a testing centre in Ahmedabad, India, March 23, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave Genome sequencing and analysis of samples from Maharashtra state found mutations in the virus that do not match previously catalogued “variants of concern” (VOC), the ministry said in a statement. Maharashtra is one of India’s worst-affected states but the ministry said it was not clear if the new variant was causing an upsurge there or in other states. “Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found […]