NEW DELHI, April 6 (Xinhua) - India has reported the country's first case of Omicron XE variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) from its financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday, said local media.

School students stand in a queue outside a classroom to get themselves inoculated with the jab of ‘Corbevax’ vaccine, during a vaccination drive held for children in the age group of 12-14, as a preventive measure against Covid-19 coronavirus in Bangalore on March 30, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

This new variant, believed to be more transmissible than the Omicron variant, was first detected in Britain.

It is said to be around 10 percent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, as per the World Health Organisation.

Until now, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was considered the most contagious strain of COVID-19, said the media report.