Indian variant and travel bans: COVID-19 warnings should be rooted in science, not anti-South Asian racism

The Conversation 16 May 2021 At the end of April, the Canadian government implemented a month-long travel ban to and from India and Pakistan due to COVID-19 crises both countries face and a new strain of the virus linked to India. The travel bans and new mutations have exacerbated the animosity South Asians have faced as a result of being singled out for COVID-19 outbreaks. The Indian variant, or B.1.617 , has been dubbed a "double mutant," and data suggests that it is more contagious than the original virus . However, little is still known about the variant including if…