The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday, June 22, called the Delta plus a “variant of concern”.
The Delta plus variant, which is a new mutant version of the Delta strain first detected in India, has been detected in 22 cases so far across the nation.
However, the Centre has warned and alerted Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh on this new variant of COVID-19 after certain districts reported the presence of the virus in some of the samples tested from these states.
In Maharashtra, cases of the Delta plus variant have been detected in Ratnagiri and Jalgaon districts. The government advisory also mentioned that it has been found in Palakkad and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, and in Bhopal and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.
The ministry advised the state authorities to take up immediate containment measures, enhanced testing, tracking and vaccination in districts and clusters where the Delta plus variant was found.
It also asked states to ensure that people strictly follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and avoid crowds and parties.
Experts in Maharashtra fear the new variant could potentially trigger the third wave and warn it could come earlier than originally predicted.
Maharashtra, which has reported most of these Delta Plus cases, is already preparing for a third wave.
The state is collecting data like travel history and vaccination status of those who have reported this version of the virus.
India is among the nine countries where the Delta plus mutation has been found so far. Besides India, the Delta Plus variant has been found in the US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China and Russia.
Like the Delta strain, which has now spread to 80 countries, the Delta Plus is considered highly infectious and fast-spreading.
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