COVID-19: 52 cases of Delta Plus variant in India so far

India has so far reported 52 cases of the new 'Delta Plus' variant. While 50 cases of the variant were reported across 18 districts, 2 new cases were added later, taking the total number of Delta Plus variant cases to 52, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Sujeet Singh said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, Singh said the Delta variant is much stronger than Alpha, the variant formerly known as B.1.1.7, which was first identified in UK.

Eight states in the country -- Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and West Bengal -- have more than 50 per cent of Delta variant cases, which is a 'variant of concern', Singh was quoted as saying by India Today

Earlier this week, the central government had declared 'Delta Plus' variant as a 'variant of concern' in India.

During the press conference, ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said that the cases of Delta Plus variant have been "very localised" in the country.

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The 'variants Of concern' are found to be distributed in 174 districts in 35 states. The highest numbers are reported from districts in Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana, Bhargava added.

As per experts, Delta Plus variant can bypass both vaccine and infection immunity. As per Professor Shahid Jameel, one of India's top virologists and a former member of INSACOG, Delta plus has all the characteristics of the original Delta variant along with the Beta variant mutation known as K417N, first discovered in South Africa. Hence, it may be capable of evading immunitiy from vaccination as well as earlier infections.

"It's well-established that the Beta variant of concern evades vaccines much better than the Alpha variant or even the Delta variant," Jameel had told the channel.

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has also said that Delta Plus variant is extremely transmissible, and even walking next to a COVID-19 patient, who is a carrier of the variant, without a mask may lead to the spread of infection.

He suggested following all COVID-19 safety protocols to combat the new variant. "This (variant) is being studied by INSACOG, a network of labs undertaking genomic sequencing in India and we will know if vaccines are effective against this variant or not," Guleria said.

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