India asks social media firms to remove reference to 'Indian variant' of coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: A medical worker takes care of a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) hospital, in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's information technology (IT) ministry has written to all social media companies asking them to take down any content that refers to an "Indian variant" of the coronavirus, according to a letter issued on Friday which was seen by Reuters.

The World Health Organization said on May 11 that the coronavirus variant B.1.617, first identified in India last year, was being classified as a variant of global concern.