The Director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Haider Al-Sayeh, says the new COVID mutant XE could be around 10 per cent more transmissible than other Omicron mutations, though there are no indications so far that it is very virulent.
"These mutations will not end and will not stop... It is difficult to say the Coronavirus is over and has become a thing of the past," Al-Sayeh wrote on his Facebook account.
However, he confirmed that the NCDC has eased the precautionary measures, but on the condition of receiving the vaccine, urging people to get their shots "because it is the best way to protect one's self and eliminate the pandemic."
Al-Sayeh said tests would be run through the NCDC's genetic sequencer in case of any suspicious case of the new variant.
Health
