Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehood on "Singapore" strain

19 May 2021

False statement circulated by multiple sources about a “Singapore” COVID-19 variant

Illustration of red and blue COVID-19 virus particles with a blurred teal background

There is a false statement circulating online by multiple media outlets and social media platforms, which implies that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated in Singapore and/or risks spreading to India from Singapore.

Facts

This is false. There is no new “Singapore” variant of COVID 19. Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids’. The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India. The existence and spread of the B.1.617.2 variant within India predates the detection of the variant in Singapore, and this has been publicly known and reported by various media sources from as early as 5 May 2021.