India reported 81,466 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike in cases since early October. t is also the deadliest day of the pandemic in India this year with 469 deaths in the last 24 hours. Are the new variants the reason for the spike and higher transmission? Dr Ashish K Jha, Dean, Brown University School of Public Health, says more information is needed on mutations and that now is not the time to downplay the impact.