A new sub-lineage of COVID-19 Delta variant has been found in Sri Lanka, medical experts said on 19 November.

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Chandima Jeewandara, Director in the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, said that a new sub-lineage named B.1.617.2.104 has been found in the country, which is spreading in certain provinces. "Sri Lanka now has another Delta sub-lineage. In addition to B.1.617.2.28 sub-lineage, another sub-lineage has been assigned as B.1.617.2.104" Jeewandara said in a Twitter message. Therefore, the Delta variants in Sri Lanka now have two unique sub-lineages that originated in Sri Lanka -- AY.28 and AY.104," the medical expert stated. According to Jeewandara, there are three SARS-CoV-2 variants that originated in Sri Lanka.

"The first one was B.411, which is a lineage of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus," he said. The medical expert also warned that the new variant is spreading in the North, North Central and Southern provinces. The samples are to be sent to Hong Kong to examine the transmissibility of the variant, he said.