51 Cases And Three Deaths Across 12 States, How Delta Plus COVID-19 Variant Is Spreading

On Thursday, the Health Ministry declared that the Delta Plus variant of the COVID-19 is a 'variant of concern' (VOC) for India.

When the presence of the mutant strain Delta, identified as AY.1 was acknowledged it was reported only from three states, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

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Nine more states reported Delta Plus strain cases

Since then, nine more states, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Karnataka have reported at least one case of Delta Plus strain there.

At 22, Maharashtra has the highest number of Delta Plus variant cases. The state has also reported one death from the new strain, taking the total confirmed fatalities in India so far to three. The other two deaths were reported from Madhya Pradesh.

"There are nearly 50 cases that are found in 12 districts and this has happened in the last three months. It cannot be said that in any district or state it is showing an increasing trend," Sujeet Singh, the director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said on Friday.

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One of the biggest fears the new variant is causing is how fast and easily it can spread.

It evolved from the Delta strain, which was already highly infectious and was blamed for the deadly second wave in India.

The variant has the characteristics of increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.

However, scientists have said that it is too early to say if Delta Plus is equally or more infectious than Delta and if it could trigger the third wave of the pandemic in India.

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States not taking chances

But states are not taking any chances, with the third wave almost certain to hit some time this year itself, according to most predictions.

Maharashtra, which had started the unlock process has gone back to Level-3 lockdown, which means some restrictions will continue to remain in place across the state.

In Tamil Nadu, the Centre has advised the government to take immediate measures to contain the spread of Delta plus variant in Madurai, Chennai and Kanchipuram districts where the variant has been found.

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In Jammu and Kashmir, the local traders' body at the biggest grain market in Jammu has announced a voluntary weekend lockdown following the detection of the first case of the COVID-19 Delta Plus variant.

"We have decided to continue the weekend lockdown for the next three weeks as a precautionary measure in view of the detection of the first Delta Plus variant case and the apprehension of the third wave," the federation president Deepak Gupta said.

In Rajasthan, the facility for Genome Sequencing has been started in the SMS Medical College in Jaipur, thus making it the first state to have its own Genome Sequencing lab.