MEXICO CITY -- The Brazilian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had confirmed the first case of the "deltacron" variant of COVID-19, a new variant that has characteristics of both the delta and omicron variants. Deltacron cases have already been confirmed in the U.S. and Europe. The number of infections remains low.
Two cases have been confirmed in Brazil. A 34-year-old man in the northern state of Amapa, and a 26-year-old woman in the northern state of Para were infected, according to local media. "The deltacron variant needs to be monitored," said Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga at a March 15 news conference. He noted that the same measures used to fight earlier strains of the coronavirus, such as booster vaccinations, are also effective against the new variant.
