OREANDA-NEWS. In Indonesia, more infectious mutation of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was discovered. This was reported by Reuters agency, citing deputy director of the Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Herawati Sudoyo. The new strain named D614G was found in genome sequencing data from samples collected by the Institute.

Syahrizal Syarif, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, told reporters that residents of the country should be vigilant, since, according to his calculations, the number of infected people in Indonesia could rise to 500 thousand by the end of the year. “The situation is serious… local transmission currently is out of control,” he said, adding that the number of detected infections could be much higher if laboratories were able to process more samples daily.

Director of the Eijkman Institute, Amin Soebandrio said that, according to preliminary information, about 40 % of all contracted people in Indonesia are infected with D614G. He noted that additional research is being conducted to get a more accurate data. The scientist also stated that there is no evidence that new infection causes harder illness.

Reuters noted that earlier the World Health Organization reported that mutations were discovered back in February in samples taken from patients in Europe and America; they were also identified in Malaysia and Singapore, neighbouring Indonesia.