Over 40 Cases Of The Delta Plus Variant Of Novel Coronavirus Found In India

Delta Plus Variant Of Novel Coronavirus: According to the Union Health Ministry, the Delta Plus variant of novel Coronavirus which has been detected in three Indian states - Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala, has been categorised as a 'variant of concern'.

The latest variant of Coronavirus has also been detected in a total of 10 countries including the UK, USA, Switzerland, Japan, Portugal, China, Russia, Nepal, Poland and India.

The cases of COVID-19 in India have been decreasing and have dropped to below one lakh new cases for about the past 15 days and less than fifty thousand new cases were reported on Tuesday, June 22. One may think that the decreasing cases would mean a fall in COVID-19 threats, however, the emergence of new variants in the country could cause serious problems in the coming days.

According to Rajesh Bhushan, the Union Health Secretary, the Delta Plus variant has been found in at least 40 cases across several districts including Ratnagiri, Jalgaon, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Shivpuri and Bhopal. Twenty-one of the cases have been found in Maharashtra, six cases have been detected in Madhya Pradesh, three in Tamil Nadu, three in Kerala, two in Karnataka and one each in Jammu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.

Even though these are the official numbers of the detected samples, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the government doesn't want this variant to assume significant proportions. The statement was made at a COVID-19 briefing of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday, June 22.

The Health Ministry has already issued alerts and has directed the states to take immediate containment measures where the new variant has been detected. According to VK Paul, the head of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration, the measures implemented have to be more focused and effective. "We don't want this small number to take a bigger form," he added.

Meanwhile, the US vaccine company Pfizer is in the final stage of getting approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in India. Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer said at the USA-India Chamber of Commerce Annual Summit, that after the vaccine is approved by the government, two billion doses will be sent to India, of which, one billion will be provided within 2021 itself.