Alarms set off at WHO with the appearance of XE, possibly the most contagious variant in history

After more than two years of the coronavirus pandemic, with all kinds of restrictions, measures and confinements, many countries like Spain are heading towards an absolute normalcy with the design of the end of the masks indoors. In this scenario, the World Health Organization warns of a new variant of the coronavirus that may be the most dangerous known to date.

Despite these new mutations of the COVID-19, in Spain, Pedro Sánchez, assured that the Ministry of Health will decide the withdrawal of the obligation to wear a mask in the interior “as soon as” the healthcare professionals recommend it: “I anticipate that there is one day less to lift it”. It could be the case that the mask is removed indoors before Easter as reflected in a document from the director of the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies (Ccaes), Fernando Simón.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the pandemic has not ended and although the infections and hospital admissions has been reduced, not all experts agree that it should be classed like flu at the moment.

Over the years, the coronavirus has made it clear that the more movement the more transmission and that triggers a rapid mutation of it.

WHO has reported the appearance of three new variants designated as XD, XF and XE, the latter being categorized as the most dangerous. XD and XF are combinations of the delta and omicron variants, where XE is the result of the combination of the original Omicron variant (BA.1) and the dominant subline (BA.2), known as the silent omicron.

These new versions of the coronavirus were first detected on 19 January in the UK, and since then there are 637 confirmed cases throughout the country. The UK Health Safety Agency is warning that this variant is spreading even faster, 10% more than Omicron.

Research on the new XE variant to determine its dangerousness is not yet fully known, but it could be the most transmissible to date.

In Spain the subtype BA.2 predominates, as the mutation that presents different from the original Omicron, therefore, the union between BA.2 and BA.1 activates all the alarms in the scientific community.

The World Health Organization now stresses the need to wait until the differences in transmission and disease caused by XE can be confirmed, but so far it will be considered a variant of Omicron.