THE HAGUE - The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has now found one case of the Indian mutation of the coronavirus in the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, St. Eustatiuas and Saba). It is not known which island it is. As far as is known, the variant has not yet surfaced in the Netherlands.

The variant causes a significant increase in the number of corona infections in India and is causing concern among scientists. For example, vaccines are said to be less effective against the mutation. The British government has put India on the red list of countries with travel restrictions.

The health institute says that "of course" it will keep an eye on the major outbreak of the virus in India, where more than 200,000 infections are added every day. A spokesperson emphasizes that it is not yet clear whether the Indian variant is more contagious than other mutations. "It could also be due to the circumstances in India, but we still know too little about that."