According to a World Health Organization (WHO) link studyreleased on Wednesday, the coronavirus strain first discovered in India hasnow been confirmed in 53 territories.

The WHO has obtained reports from unofficial sources that the B.1.617mutation has been discovered in seven more regions, bringing the overallamount to 60, according to estimates in the UN health agency’s weeklyepidemiological report.

According to the study, B.1.617 showed improved transmissibility, and theseriousness of the disease and the likelihood of infection were beinginvestigated.

Globally, the number of new cases and fatalities continues to declineduring the past week, with about 4.1 million new cases and 84,000 newdeaths registered, down 14% and 2% respectively from the previous week.

In the last seven days, new cases and fatalities in the WHO’s Europeanregion have decreased the most, led by the Southeast Asia region.

The Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, and Western Pacific regionsrecorded comparable numbers of cases to the previous week.

“Despite a declining global trend over the past four weeks, incidence ofCovid-19 cases and deaths remain high, and substantial increases have beenobserved in many countries throughout the world,” the document said.

India (1,846,055 new cases, down 23 percent); Brazil (451,424 new cases, upthree percent); Argentina (213,046 new cases, up 41 percent); the UnitedStates (188,410 new cases, down 20 percent); and Colombia (188,410 newcases, down 20 percent) (107,590 — down seven percent).

The update included details on four mutations classified as mutants ofconcern, including those first discovered in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7),South Africa (B.1.351), Brazil (P.1), and India (B.1.1.7) (B.1.617).

When calculating the total number of territories reporting each variant,the WHO combined those with which it had both official and unofficial data.

B.1.1.7 has now been reported in 149 territories; B.1.351 in 102territories and P.1 in 59 territories.