New Covid variant No evidence of increased severity or complications: Health Secretary

The Covid variant, which has been detected in Sri Lanka, is not a novel variant, and no evidence of increased severity or complications has been reported, the Health Ministry said.

- 

Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the currently circulating variant reported in many countries in 2024 has been identified as a sub-lineage of a previously known genetic variant, and in 2024, this same variant has been detected in Sri Lanka as well.

"In May 2025, specimens tested by the Medical Research Institute (MRI) confirmed the presence of these previously identified sub-lineages. Therefore, these are not novel variants, and no evidence of increased severity or complications has been reported," he said in a statement.