News Analysis India

Tag: Delta Plus

  • Issue SOPs to contain spread of new Delta Plus AY.4.2: Rajasthan CM Gehlot to Centre

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Expressing concern over cases of a sublineage of SARS CoV2’s delta variant, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asked the central government on Monday to prepare and issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for its prevention.

    In a tweet, he said many cases of Delta Plus AY.4.2, a new mutated form of coronavirus that has killed thousands of people in several countries like Russia and the UK, have been found in India.

    “The central government should prepare and issue SOPs for its prevention on the basis of the experience of other countries,” Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

    ALSO READ: India on alert over new highly mobile COVID-19 variant ‘AY. 4.2’

    “Initially, there were only a few cases of the delta variant but it did not take time to spread across the country,” he said.

    The chief minister added that the government should learn from previous experiences and make full preparations to deal with the new variant.

  • COVID-19: Maharashtra reports 27 new cases of Delta Plus variant; tally reaches to 103

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: The cases of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Maharashtra has gone up to 103 after 27 new infections were reported in the state, the state health department said on Tuesday.

    According to the health department, six cases each were detected in Gadchiroli and Amravati, five in Nagpur, four in Ahmednagar, three in Yavatmal, two in Nashik and one in Bhandara district.

    As per official data, there are 53,433 active cases of COVID-19 in Maharashtra.

    “The cumulative cases of COVID-19 in the state stands at 62,38,794, while as many as 1,36,067 people have succumbed to the infection so far,” the Union Health Ministry said.

    An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study conducted in Chennai has found that the Delta variant has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, but it reduces mortality among the former group.

    According to a study published in the Journal of Infection on August 17 and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai indicates that the prevalence of the Delta variant or B.1.617.2 was not different between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.

    “B.1.617.2 has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, the progression of illness seems to be prevented by vaccination. Therefore, non-pharmaceutical interventions must continue to slow down the transmission. Additionally, the pace and scale of vaccination have to be increased to mitigate the further waves of the pandemic,” the report read.

    reported 4,355 new coronavirus cases and 119 fresh fatalities on Tuesday, taking the infection tally to 64,32,649 and the toll to 1,36,355, a state health department official said.

    Seven districts namely Wardha, Gondia, Akola, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Jalna, and Dhule did not report any fresh infection of COVID-19 (in their rural areas), and same was the case with Chandrapur, Amaravati, Akola, Parbhani, Jalgaon, Dhule and Malegaon municipal corporations (urban centres), he said.

    The official said 4,240 patients were discharged from hospitals across the state in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of recovered cases to 62,43,034.

    Maharashtra now has 49,752 active cases, he said.

    The state has 3,01,955 people in home isolation and another 2,330 in institutional quarantine, according to the official.

    Maharashtra’s COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.05 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.11 per cent, he said.

    The cumulative number of tests conducted in the state climbed to 5,26,32,810, of which 1,87,121 tests were done in the last 24 hours, the official said.

    He said Ahmednagar district reported the highest 667 new infections, followed by Pune at 533, while Satara district topped the list of fatalities with 24 deaths in the last 24 hours.

    Among the eight regions of Maharashtra, the Pune region reported the highest new cases at 1,876 followed by 895 in Kolhapur.

    Among the other regions, the Nashik region reported 748 new cases, Mumbai 631, Latur 168, Nagpur 21, Aurangabad nine and the Akola region seven, he said.

    According to the official, among the 119 fatalities, the highest 65 were reported from the Pune region followed by 27 from the Kolhapur region.

    Significantly, Akola and Nagpur regions did not report any fresh fatality, while the Nashik region registered 14 deaths, Mumbai six, Latur five and the Aurangabad region two, he said.

    The official said Mumbai witnessed 271 new COVID-19 cases and only one death, while Pune city reported 226 infections and two fatalities.

    Among the 49,752 active cases in the state, Pune district has the highest at 11,962, he said.

    The official said among the 62,43,034 recovered patients across the state, the highest – 10,80,515 – were from Pune district.

    Coronavirus figures for Maharashtra are as follows: Total cases 64,32,649; new cases- 4,355; total deaths 1,36,355; total recoveries 62,43,034; active cases 49,752; total tests 5,26,32,810.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • COVID: Fully-vaccinated woman first to die of Delta Plus variant in Mumbai

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Mumbai has recorded its first death due to the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus with a 63-year-old fully vaccinated woman succumbing to it in July, a civic official has said.

    Following her death, at least two of her close contacts have also been found infected with the Delta Plus variant, which is considered highly infectious, he said.

    It is the second death due to this variant in the state as it had claimed the life of an 80-year-old woman from Ratnagiri district on June 13.

    That woman had not taken even a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, officials said.

    In the latest case, the woman, a resident of eastern Mumbai suburb of Ghatkopar died on July 27 while undergoing treatment in a hospital ICU.

    However, it was only on August 11 that the state government authorities came to know that she was infected with the Delta Plus variant which came to light in the genome sequencing report, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

    The woman had taken both the doses of Covishield vaccine, but tested coronavirus positive on July 21 with symptoms like dry cough, loss of taste, bodyache and headache, he said.

    She was put on oxygen support and given steroids and Remdesivir as part of the treatment, the official said, adding that she did not have any travel history or history of reinfection.

    Six close contacts of the deceased woman have also tested coronavirus positive.

    After their samples were sent for whole genome sequencing, two of them were found to have been infected with the Delta Plus variant, and the result of others is awaited, he said.

    Two days back, the Maharashtra government had said that as many as 20 new cases of the Delta Plus variant were detected in the state on Wednesday alone and seven of them were in Mumbai.

    With this, the number of patients found infected with this variant in the state had increased to 65, said a statement issued by the health department.

    Out of the newly detected cases, seven were in Mumbai, three in Pune, two each in Nanded, Gondia, Raigad, Palghar, and one each in Chandrapur and Akola districts, it had said.

  • COVID: Fully vaccinated woman becomes Mumbai’s first death due to Delta Plus variant

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Mumbai has recorded its first death due to the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus with a 63-year-old fully vaccinated woman succumbing to it in July, a civic official has said.

    Following her death, at least two of her close contacts have also been found infected with the Delta Plus variant, which is considered highly infectious, he said.

    It is the second death due to this variant in the state as it had claimed the life of an 80-year-old woman from Ratnagiri district on June 13.

    That woman had not taken even a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, officials said.

    In the latest case, the woman, a resident of eastern Mumbai suburb of Ghatkopar died on July 27 while undergoing treatment in a hospital ICU.

    However, it was only on August 11 that the state government authorities came to know that she was infected with the Delta Plus variant which came to light in the genome sequencing report, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

    The woman had taken both the doses of Covishield vaccine, but tested coronavirus positive on July 21 with synonyms like dry cough, loss of taste, bodyache and headache, he said.

    She was put on oxygen support and given steroids and Remdesivir as part of the treatment, the official said, adding that she did not have any travel history or history of reinfection.

    Six close contacts of the deceased woman have also tested coronavirus positive.

    After their samples were sent for whole genome sequencing, two of them were found to have been infected with the Delta Plus variant, and the result of others is awaited, he said.

    Two days back, the Maharashtra government had said that as many as 20 new cases of the Delta Plus variant were detected in the state on Wednesday alone and seven of them were in Mumbai.

    With this, the number of patients found infected with this variant in the state had increased to 65, said a statement issued by the health department.

    Out of the newly detected cases, seven were in Mumbai, three in Pune, two each in Nanded, Gondia, Raigad, Palghar, and one each in Chandrapur and Akola districts, it had said.

  • Second Covid wave deadlier, fatalities higher in younger patients: Study

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: An important study carried out by 10 super specialty hospitals of a major corporate chain across five states has shown that the second wave of Covid had a markedly higher mortality rate as compared to the first one last year. 

    The retrospective research by the Max group of hospitals on clinical outcomes of nearly 20,000 patients showed that 40% more patients died between January and mid-June this year, as compared to those between April-December last year. The fatalities were particularly higher in younger patients, the research results said. 

    The results from the study “Differentials in the characteristics of Covid-19 cases in Wave-1 and Wave-2 admitted to a network of hospitals in North India” have now been released on BioRxiv, the preprint server for medical sciences. 

    For the study, medical records of a total of 14,398 cases admitted in the first wave to the Max network of hospitals in north India — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana — and 5,454 cases admitted in the same hospitals during the second wave were compared. 

    Overall, in each wave, almost two-thirds were males and females were admitted slightly more in the second wave as compared to the first wave while the age group 60+ years continued to have a disproportionately large share, nearly 40%.  

    ALSO READ | Covid cases with variants of concern rose from 10% in May to 51% till June 20: Parliamentary panel told

    Relative to their population (less than 10% at the all-India level) 60+ age group was nearly four times as likely to be admitted and patients of age less than 45 years comprised 28.3% and 27.1% in the first and second wave. 

    However, the most striking finding, which the researchers noted, was the overall higher severity of the disease at admission and a significantly higher mortality rate in the second wave, especially in younger patients. 

    In the second wave, 10.5% of the admitted patients, for instance, died as compared to 7.2%  in the first wave and the increase in mortality was seen in both males and females. Younger patients, aged less than 45 years, saw the sharpest increase in mortality to 4.1% from 1.3% in the first wave and not only was the mortality higher this year for patients in ICU (19.8% vs 25.1%) but steeply higher even for those admitted inwards (0.5% vs 3.1%). 

    Since there were no significant demographic differences in the population during these two waves, various other factors such as increased comorbidity and higher occurrence of secondary bacterial and fungal infections may have contributed towards increased mortality, the scientific exercise led by Max group director Sandeep Budhiraja concluded.  

    Additionally, said the paper, as reports indicate that a higher percentage of infections having been caused by delta variant (B.1.617.2) of SARSCoV2 in the second wave, which was not only more transmissible but also potentially more lethal, could be another important factor. 

    “Late presentation of patients in wave 2 due to non-availability of hospital beds could also have contributed towards higher mortality,” it said. 

    Importantly, the study showed that more patients required oxygen support this time (74.1% vs 63.4%). But on a rather positive note, more than one-fifth (21.4%) of patients stayed for less than 5 days in the hospital this year compared to 15.7% in the first wave. Cases with a long stay of over 15 days also reduced from 10.4% in the first wave to 7% in the second.

  • Delta plus has more affinity for lung tissues in comparison to other COVID-19 strains: NTAGI chief

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delta plus variant of COVID-19 has greater affinity to lung tissues as compared to other strains but it does not mean that it will cause severe disease or is more transmissible, head of coronavirus working group NTAGI Dr N K Arora said.

    A new viral variant of the coronavirus, Delta Plus, was identified on June 11.

    It was recently classified as a variant of concern.

    Till now, 51 cases of Delta Plus have been detected across 12 states, with Maharashtra reporting the maximum cases of this variant.

    Talking about Delta plus, chairman of COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) said it has been found that the variant has greater affinity to lung tissues as compared to other strains of coronavirus but clarified that it does not mean the Delta Plus variant will cause more severe disease or is more transmissible.

    “Delta plus is having greater affinity to mucosal lining in the lungs, higher compared to other variants, but if it causes damage or not is not clear yet.

    It also does not mean that this variant will cause more severe disease or it is more transmissible,” Arora told PTI in an interview.

    He said the impact of the Delta plus strain will become clear only as more cases are identified but it appears that the disease is generally mild in all those who have got either single or double dose of the vaccine.

    “We need to keep a very close watch and look at its spread so that it will give us transmission efficiency,” he said.

    Arora said the number of cases identified of Delta plus variant may be more as there may be many asymptomatic individuals also — those who do not have any COVID-19 symptoms but they are carrying the virus and spreading it.

    “But the important point is that our genomic surveillance component has picked it up rightly and early enough.

    Now what will happen is that states have already been told that it is a variant of concern and it requires action which means that several states have already started making micro plans for the districts where the virus is identified so that their spread can be contained.

    Obviously vaccination will have to be increased in these districts,” he said.

    Responding to a question if the Delta plus variant can trigger the third wave of coronavirus, Arora said it is difficult to assess that as of now.

    “Waves are linked to new variants or new mutations so there is a possibility as this is a new variant, but whether it will lead to a third wave it is difficult to answer as it will depend upon two or three things,” he said.

    “The first thing is we had a ferocious second wave in the last three months and it is still going on, we are seeing for the last 8-10 days the number of cases are stuck at 50,000, while at some places cases continue to come so that wave has not settled down,” he said.

    He said the second wave will influence the community’s response to another variant and the third wave will depend upon what proportion of the population got infected in the second wave.

    “If a large proportion is infected then in the next wave people can develop a common cold like illness but may not develop a serious or fatal illness,” he said.

    “Secondly, another thing that is important is vaccination — the rapidity with which we vaccinate even single dose is effective and the way we are planning, if we rapidly immunise then possibility of third wave becomes very less because vaccine plus infection plus Covid appropriate behaviour will save us from next wave, mitigate the next wave and the third wave will not be able to cause the damage as was caused in the first two waves,” he added.

  • UP to do genome sequencing of Covid test samples of passengers from states with ‘Delta Plus’ variants

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday put the Uttar Pradesh health authorities on alert against the emergence of new coronavirus variant Delta-plus detected in some parts of the country.

    In a bid to shield UP from the onslaught of the new variant, the chief minister has asked the state’s health authorities to start genome sequencing of RTPCR samples of train, air or road passengers coming to UP from states where delta-plus variant has been detected.

    Acting on the recommendations of the state’s health experts’ advisory panel, the chief minister also ordered the collection of samples from the UP districts bordering the states where cases of delta-plus variant have been detected and get their genome sequencing done in UP itself.

    “For delta-plus variant, genome sequencing of more and more samples should be done. Genome sequencing of those coming from railway, bus and air route should also be done,” Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said in an official statement.

    The statement said the samples should also be taken from districts bordering states where the virus’ delta-plus variant was detected and as per results of the tests, mapping of delta plus variant should be done, Sehgal said.

    “This will help in taking preventive measures from this new variant,” he said in the statement, adding the chief minister gave the directions after chairing a high-level meeting to take stock of the Covid situation in the state and the emerging threat from its delta-plus variant.

    The chief minister also asked the Health Department to expedite the process of setting up ICUs for children, including the newborn ones, across the state, amid the fears that a possible third wave will affect children more.

    The chief minister gave the directions following the strategy, chalked out by the state-level health experts’ advisory panel, which has also recommended a high level of public awareness about the threats from the new as well as existing variants of the virus.

    The chief minister also ordered upgrading the facilities and infrastructure at the KGMU, Lucknow or BHU Medical College and Hospital, Varanasi, which too have begun genome sequencing.

    Till now samples were being sent to Pune for genome-sequencing but now with the start of the high-end investigation in the state itself, they will not have to be sent outside the state, the statement said.

    The state government will also conduct door-to-door distribution of ‘special medicine kits’ with syrups and chewable tablets for children showing influenza-like symptoms of cold and cough, the statement said.

    It added that the distribution of the medicine kits for children will be undertaken by over four lakh members of 60,569 surveillance committees in rural areas from June 27, the CM said.

    “Everyone must follow the COVID-19 protocols and ensure 100 per cent usage of double masks, sanitisers along with social distancing and maintenance of personal hygiene,” the CM said.

    He mentioned that the five-fold strategy of “Tracing, Testing, Treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Vaccination (TTT-CV)” implemented with utmost seriousness will be effective in curbing any further spread.

    With 17 more COVID-19 fatalities, the cumulative death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 22,381 while the total cases in the state climbed to 17,05,220 with 226 new infections, a health bulletin issued here said.

    “In the past 24 hours, 226 fresh cases were reported in the state while as many as 320 COVID-19 patients recovered from the infection and have been discharged, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,79,416,” it said.

    The count of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 3,423, the bulletin said.

    The recovery rate of the state is 98.5 per cent.

    In the past 24 hours, more than 2.6 lakh samples in the state have been tested.

    The overall samples tested is over 5.65 crore in the state, it said.

  • 48 Delta Plus Covid variant cases detected in India; Maharashtra records highest: Government

    The second wave of COVID-19 is not yet over in-country as 75 districts still have more than 10 per cent prevalence and 92 districts have 5-10 per cent prevalence of coronavirus.

  • MP: Two found infected with ‘Delta plus’ variant of COVID in Ujjain, one of them dead

    By PTI
    UJJAIN: Two persons were found infected with the dreaded ‘Delta plus’ variant of the coronavirus in Ujjain district and one of them, a woman, died on May 23, the local administration said on Wednesday.

    ‘Delta plus’ has been declared a variant of concern by the Centre.

    “A woman died in Patidar Hospital due to coronavirus on May 23 after she tested positive for COVID-19. Her sample and that of 14 others were sent for genome report (sequencing) in a lab in Bhopal,” an official release said.

    “Out of these 15 samples, two persons were found infected with the Delta plus variant and among these two, a woman died on May 23 in the private hospital,” it said.

    The release did not mention the date on which the genome report was received.

    Later, 21 persons, who came in contact with these two patients, were traced and all of them were subjected to RT-PCR test, but none of them was found COVID-19 positive, the release said.

    Ujjain collector Ashish Singh said there is no threat of the Delta plus variant in the district, but cautioned people not to lower their guard and follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, including wearing a face mask, maintaining social distance and avoiding crowded places, it said.

    The release was silent on the status of the second person found infected with the Delta plus variant and efforts to contact officials on the matter proved futile.

  • First case of Delta plus COVID variant detected in J&K: GMC principal

    By PTI
    JAMMU: The first case of the Delta plus variant of coronavirus, classified as a variant of concern, has been detected in Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu Government Medical College (GMC) principal Shashi Sudhan Sharma said Wednesday.

    She said authorities are verifying the details to ascertain if the patient is a traveller or a local.

    She advised people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, saying there is no room for laxity.

    The case has been found in the Katra township of Reasi district, she said.

    “We are regularly sending our samples (to National Centre for Disease control, Delhi) for (genome) sequencing. A new type of variant called Delta Plus or variant of interest has been detected in some parts of our country and one such case has been detected from Katra,” Sharma said.

    Katra serves as the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills.

    She said though it looks that the Covid cases are declining in Jammu and Kashmir “we cannot take the things lightly and everyone should follow the Covid-appropriate behavior seriously”.

    “There is no room for laxity. We have to stop the transmission chain of the new variant and we have to finish it in its host,” Sharma said.

    Meanwhile, the investigation is underway into a complaint about the abrupt disruption of oxygen supply for nearly eight minutes to over a dozen Covid patients at the GMC hospital here last week.

    “An FIR under section 440 (mischief to cause hurt or death) of the Indian Penal Code was registered on the complaint of Assistant Executive Engineer, Mechanical Division, Rajiv Gupta, about the stoppage of oxygen supply to the Isolation ward on June 16 for a few minutes,” a police official said.

    He said the investigation is in progress but no arrests have been made so far.

    Hospital authorities said there was no death due to the supply disruption.

    Vijay Chouhan, who was attending to his Covid-positive brother at the hospital on that day, said the oxygen supply to the ward stopped around 11.20 am, causing panic among the people including doctors, paramedical staff and the attendants.

    “Luckily, there was no harm to the patients” he said, demanding a thorough probe and fixing of responsibility in the case.

    The hospital has already conducted an internal inquiry.