A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that the first variant of the coronavirus discovered in India has now been officially recorded in 53 regions.

In addition, information obtained by the World Health Organization from unofficial sources indicates that the B.1.617 variant has also been found in seven other regions. The latest epidemiological data from the United Nations health agency on Wednesday showed that the total number reached 60.

The report stated that the spread of B.1.617 has increased, while the severity of the disease and the risk of infection are under investigation.

Globally, in the past week, the number of new cases and deaths continued to decrease, with approximately 4.1 million new cases and 84,000 new deaths reported, a decrease of 14% and 2% respectively compared to the previous week.

The WHO European Region has reported the largest decline in the number of new cases and deaths in the past 7 days, followed by Southeast Asia.

The number of reported cases in the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Africa and Western Pacific regions was similar to that reported in the previous week.

The document said: “Despite the downward trend in global trends over the past four weeks, the incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths remains high, and a substantial increase has been observed in many countries around the world.”

In the past seven days, India has reported the highest number of new cases (1,846,055, a decrease of 23%); Brazil (451,424-an increase of 3%); Argentina (213,046-a decrease of 41%), the United States (188,410-a decrease of 20%) and Colombia (107,590-down 7%).

The update provides information on four mutations of interest: the mutations first reported in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), Brazil (P.1) and India (B.1.617).

In calculating the total number of territories reporting each variant, the World Health Organization added data collected from official and unofficial sources.

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

WHO divides the numbers of B.1.617 variants into three pedigrees (B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3).

According to reports, there are 41 regions in the first region, 54 regions in the second region, and six countries in the third region: Britain, Canada, Germany, India, Russia and the United States.

The blood of the B.1.617 variant is officially recorded in 53 regions, and informally in the other seven regions.

The update also lists six interesting variants that are being monitored.

One was first discovered in multiple countries/regions, two of which were first discovered in the United States, and the other three were first discovered in Brazil, the Philippines, and France.

The report said: “The virus is expected to evolve. The more SARS-CoV-2 spreads, the more opportunities it has to evolve.”

“Reducing transmission through established and proven disease control methods… is a key aspect of a global strategy to reduce the occurrence of mutations that have a negative impact on public health.”