The Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 is now a ‘variant of concern’, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The Delta Plus variant is found in nine countries, including India, which has reported 22 cases, the Central government said on Tuesday.
“In India, 16 of the 22 cases of Delta Plus variant have been found in Ratnagiri and Jalgaon (Maharashtra) and some cases in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said today.
Bhushan, while addressing a press briefing in New Delhi said that the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is presently found in 80 countries, including India, while Delta Plus is “found in 9 nations—US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China and Russia; 22 cases found in India.”
At least 21 samples of genome sequenced in Maharashtra are of the Delta Plus variant, but its proportion is less than one per cent of total Covid-19 positive samples sequenced from the state since May.
Experts have said that the variant has to be watched to know if it is spreading among people. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said of the 21 cases, nine were found in Ratnagiri, seven in Jalgaon, two in Mumbai and one each in Palghar, Sindhudurg and Thane.
“We have taken detailed information of all these index cases, their travel history, whether they got vaccinated, whether they have been reinfected and their high and low-risk contacts. The contacts will be traced and tested; the 21 cases which have been detected to be Delta plus variants are mostly limited to western Maharashtra,” Tope said.
He said that the authorities are trying to collect data and details linked to those found infected with the mutant version of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, but soon became the dominant variant in several places across the world. The government will analyse information like their travel history, their vaccination status, whether they have been re-infected and if they got infected despite vaccination, to know more about the Delta Plus mutant.
Experts, however, have warned that Delta Plus can become the main reason behind the third wave of the
pandemic, if anti-Covid rules are ignored. Under an MoU with Maharashtra, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) has sequenced nearly 7,500 Covid samples from all 36 districts. Experts in Maharashtra have already warned that the new Delta plus variant might be the reason behind the third wave of Covid-19 and could take the active caseload up to eight lakh and 10% of them could be kids.
The Union Health Ministry has alerted and advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh regarding the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 being found in some districts in these states.
The Union Health Secretary has communicated to these three states that this variant has been found in genome sequenced samples from Ratnagiri and Jalgaon districts of Maharashtra; Palakkad and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala; and Bhopal and Shivpuri dof Madhya Pradesh. The Union Health Ministry has advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh that the public health response measures, while broadly remaining the same as have been implemented by them earlier, have to become more focused and effective.
Asked how Union Government achieved highest-single day vaccination, the Health Secretary said: “What happened yesterday was not sudden, but a result of coordinated planning. Between June 1-21, average daily vaccination was 34,62,841. So a jump to 88 lakh when vaccines and capacity are available is possible. A historic milestone was achieved on 21st June 2021—88.09 lakh doses administered in a single day. 92.20 per cent doses were administered at Government Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) and 7.80 percent in private CVCs. Total vaccine doses administered till now is 29.16 crore. Today, as of now, 38 lakh doses have been administered so far. Continuous decrease in cases since India reported a peak on 7th May. Almost 90 percent decline in cases since the highest reported peak in daily new cases,” Bhushan said.
As many as 42,640 fresh Covid-19 infections were reported in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily spike after 91 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The second wave of Covid-19 seems to be abating as the country has been witnessing a continuous decline in fresh coronavirus cases for the past few weeks.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS