Amid the tumbling COVID-19 cases in the nation, there comes distressing news of the new variant found in a few states.
The delta variant of coronavirus was majorly responsible for the deadly second wave in the state. Once again it is anticipated to be the responsible reason for the upcoming third wave in the country. It is predicted that it can cause a deadly effect of it in the coming days by changing its strain. This modified strain is named ‘Delta plus’. Experts say the delta plus variant can be the cause for the upcoming third wave of COVID-19.
As per the reports from the Centre, the new strain has affected 40 people across the country. Most among them are found in the state of Maharashtra and the rest in Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. These states are on high alert.
Four major things to remember on ‘Delta plus’
- All the active delta variants will be considered to be ‘Variant of Concern’. The variant was first observed by the public health report in England on June 11.
- In India, more than 45,000 samples were examined and among them, 40 cases of delta plus variant came forth. However, rapid transmission of this was not observed in the samples.
- The very first case of this variant was observed in India in the samples examined on April 5 in Maharashtra.
- Across the globe, 205 cases of the delta plus variant are seen and most among them are found in America and Britain.
Central Government’s Advisory
The Union Health Ministry informed all the states through a letter on how to deal with the new Chinese virus strain.
As per the recent observations of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), only Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh are guided with the instruction to deal with delta plus strain. They are guided to declare containment zones in the areas that witness this new strain with stringent laws.
Some media reports also claim the new strain to be found in other states as well. As per these reports, Maharashtra with 21 cases, and MP with 6 cases are leading. Moreover, Kerala and Tamil Nadu witnessed 3-3 cases, Karnataka with 2 and Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu Kashmir with 1-1 cases respectively.
Member of Niti Ayog, Dr. V K Paul claimed the new Chinese virus variant to be actively present in 80 countries of the world. The cause of the deadly second wave is majorly observed to be the delta plus variant and thus is put in the ‘Variant of Concern’ category.
The deadly variant is currently active in 9 countries viz Britain, America, Japan, Russia, India, Portugal, Switzerland, Nepal, and China, and these countries are found under the ‘Variant of Concern’ category too.
In answering the question on COVID-19, Dr. Paul stated the virus to be arbitrary to identify its next move. He said, “There are some nations which did not witness the second or fourth wave. If we continue to follow the protocols and keep a weather eye open, the next wave can be monitored. The better report is in comparison to May 7, the Chinese virus’ cases have a steep fall of over 90%”.
[author title=”Shreya Gohel” image=”http://localhost/gc2/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210127_014031.jpg”]Journalist, Goa Chronicle
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