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Corona graffiti in Mumbai: Order to delete online content
Photo: Ashish Vaishnav / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images
In view of the worldwide fear of the coronavirus mutant, which was first discovered in India, New Delhi is taking action against the spread of the term "Indian variant" in online media: The Indian government has asked online platforms to post all content with the term "Indian variant" Clear.
The mutant B.1.617 has spread rapidly in India and is also raging in neighboring countries.
It has now also been found in Germany and 43 other countries.
The order for the deletion of the content with the term "Indian variant" came from the Indian Ministry of Information and Technology on Friday.
It is "completely wrong" when content circulates that an "Indian variant" is spreading in other countries.
The reason given was that the World Health Organization (WHO) did not associate variant B.1.617 with a specific country.
A number of countries have banned or made strict restrictions on entry from India. Many health experts and governments use the country names for new coronavirus mutants that appeared there first or most frequently. This also includes the British, Brazilian or South African variants. The reaction of the Indian government shows how much pressure it is under in the face of allegations that it reacted incorrectly to the new variant.
In India, the corona virus has spread rapidly due to religious and political mass events.
The hospitals are hopelessly overcrowded and there is often a lack of oxygen.
India reported 257,000 new infections in 24 hours and 4,194 deaths on Saturday.
In total, there have been officially 295,525 deaths in connection with a corona infection - almost half of them since the end of March.
whale / AFP