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Tag: Delta plus variant

  • Rajasthan makes COVID vaccination mandatory to enter public places amid concerns over ‘Delta Plus’

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government on Saturday made it mandatory for people to have at least one dose of vaccination to enter public places from June 28.

    The Gehlot government made this provision in a fresh set of guidelines on the pandemic restrictions.

    Government offices will now be able to open till 6 pm, while business establishments whose employees have been vaccinated can remain open for an additional 3 hours till 7 pm, the new guidelines provided.

    Religious places will start to open conditionally while marriage palaces can open from July 1 for holding marriage programs.

    The new guideline, issued by the Home Department as a “Three-layered public-discipline 3.0” will be applicable from June 28.

    According to the guidelines, in all such government offices where the number of personnel is less than 25, full staff will be allowed whereas in offices where the number of personnel is 25 or more than 25, 50 per cent personnel will be allowed.

    In such offices, where 60 per cent of the personnel have received the first dose of the vaccine, 100 per cent of the personnel will be allowed, the new guidelines provided, adding that the office hours will be from 9:30 am to 6 pm.

    The operation of mini-buses in the city will start after the driver and operator have got at least the first dose of the vaccine.

    Traffic by private vehicles will be allowed from 5 am to 8 pm from Monday to Saturday.

    ALSO READ | Fully-vaccinated 65-year-old Rajasthan woman tests positive for Delta Plus variant

    Public parks will be open for all persons from 5 am to 8 am.

    In gyms and restaurants, where at least 60 per cent of the staff has got a vaccination, they will be allowed to open for an additional 3 hours from 4 pm to 7 pm.

    According to the guideline, it will be mandatory for the operators of all shops, clubs, gyms, restaurants, malls and other commercial establishments to get their staff vaccinated.

    They will also have to display the information about the percentage of the staff that has been vaccinated.

    Markets/commercial establishments where at least 60 per cent of the workforce has received the first dose of the vaccine, will be allowed to open for an additional 3 hours till 7 pm.

    It has been advised to organise a marriage program only after June 30.

    From July 1, the marriage garden, marriage halls, hotels etc will be allowed for the wedding ceremony till 4 pm with a maximum number of 40 guests.

    The guidelines, however, did not allow DJs, marriage processions and marriage feasts.

    The government has yet not allowed to organise entertainment, educational, cultural and religious functions, processions, festivals, fairs and weekly haat markets in the state.

    There will be “public discipline weekend curfew” in the entire state from 8 pm Saturday to 5 am on Monday, the guidelines said, adding there will be a “public discipline curfew” in the state on weekdays from 8 pm to 5 am.

    Movement of people to all the religious places of the state will be allowed from 5 am to 4 pm only after the people associated with the religious places get at least the first dose of the vaccine.

    There will be a ban on carrying flowers, garlands, prasad, chadar and other worship materials in religious places, the guidelines said.

    Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Saturday said the state government is vigilant about the delta plus variant of coronavirus, for whose detection contact tracing has been started in Bikaner and micro containment zones created to thwart its spread.

    The minister’s comments came in the wake of a woman in Bikaner found infected with the new variant.

    Contact tracing has been started on a large scale in Bikaner and micro containment zones created so that there is no spread of the infection, he said in a statement.

    The Health Minister said according to a data released by the Centre, 48 patients have been found infected with the variant in 11 states of the country.

    ALSO READ | Lawyers above 45 must be double vaccinated in Rajasthan for physical appearance

    Genome sequencing is being done at 10 places in the country.

    The work of genome sequencing has started at Jaipur’s SMS Medical College, he said, adding that samples are being tested to know more about the new variant so that treatment protocol could be fixed.

    Sharma also inspected facilities at a hospital here.

    He said better medical facilities were being provided by strengthening the infrastructure at all hospitals for children ahead of the possible third wave of coronavirus.

    The minister said on Friday, over 10 lakh people were administered coronavirus vaccine in the state.

    The state has achieved the capacity to administer more than 15 lakh vaccinations per day, he said, adding that over 2.30 crore people have been vaccinated in Rajasthan so far.

  • Fully-vaccinated 65-year-old Rajasthan woman tests positive for Delta Plus variant

    By Online Desk
    Rajasthan on Friday confirmed its first case of the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in a 65-year-old woman from Bikaner, who had received both doses of the vaccine against Covid, according to a news18.com report. 

    The woman had already recovered from the Covid infection and had received both shots of Covaxin. She was asymptomatic and had recovered following treatment, the report said.

    “The patient’s sample was sent to NIV on May 31 and after 25 days, the state government received the reports which were then sent to Bikaner district collector for further action,” Bikaner’s PBM Hospital Superintendent Parmendra Sirohi was quoted as saying in the report.

    Bikaner CMHO OP Chahar said: “Special instructions have been issued for tracing in and around the residence of the woman. All those people who tested positive in the area in the last one month will be tested again.” 

    ALSO WATCH | Delta Variant is ‘most transmissible’ identified so far: WHO

    The sample of the woman was sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune on May 30 for genome sequencing and her test report came on Friday. The CMHO said the sampling will be conducted on Saturday in the Bangla Nagar area where the woman lives.

    Meanwhile, CM Ashok Gehlot said his government is taking this issue seriously. There will be no laxity in services and the new guidelines will ensure that the Delta Plus variant does not spread across the state, the CM further said.

  • Testing ramped up at Goa borders to filter out Delta Plus cases, says CM Pramod Sawant

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said testing has been ramped up at the borders of the coastal state as a precaution in view of the detection of the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in a neighbouring state.

    Speaking to reporters at the Keri-Sattari border adjoining Karnataka, Sawant said private laboratories have been roped in to set up testing facilities as a precaution against the fresh strain of coronavirus.

    “We have stepped up monitoring at all the borders after (cases of) the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 was reported in the neighbouring state,” he said.

    The CM said if any person entering Goa is found to be infected with coronavirus, he is kept in an isolation facility or admitted to hospital.

    “People entering Goa might face a little inconvenience but there is no option. This has been done to ensure the safety of the people against COVID-19,” he said.

    Goa has not reported a single case of the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus while neighbouring Maharashtra reported 21 such cases.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Level three curbs to be clamped in Nagpur on Delta Plus variant concern

    By PTI
    NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Saturday decided to clamp fresh curbs in the city from June 28 under the “level 3” of unlocking amid concerns over the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus.

    Daily timings of the shops selling essential and non-essential items will be reduced by four hours till 4 pm.

    Malls, theatres and multiplexes will remain closed.

    Non-essential shops and establishments will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays, as per the order issued by Nagpur Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B.

    The Delta Plus variant is currently a variant of concern and therefore Nagpur District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has decided to clamp more restrictions in various activities by implementing the level 3 curbs in the city with effect from June 28, the order said.

    All essential and non-essential shops will be allowed to operate till 4 pm while malls, theatres and multiplexes (allowed to operate with the 50 per cent capacity) will be shut.

    Besides, gatherings (social/cultural/entertainment) and marriages are allowed with 50 per cent capacity of the hall or 50 persons whichever is less till 4 pm.

    A maximum of 20 people is allowed to attend a funeral.

    Salons, beauty care and wellness centres will operate till 4 pm.

    ALSO WATCH:

    E-commerce services are allowed to operate regularly, it said.

    “Inter-district travel either by private cars/taxis/buses is made regular except if moving to (areas under) level 5, wherein e-pass will be required. Religious places and swimming pools will also remain closed along with coaching classes,” as per the order.

    Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday said that 21 cases of the Delta plus variant were found in the state, including the highest nine cases in Ratnagiri, seven in Jalgaon, two in Mumbai, and one case each in Palghar, Thane and Sindhudurg districts.

  • Are vaccines effective against Delta Plus variant? Assessment report in 10 days, says Centre

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Top government authorities on Friday announced that within 7-10 days, the results of experiments being carried out to assess the efficacy of the existing Covid vaccine against the Delta Plus variant of SARSCoV2 will be out.

    The announcement comes amid concerns that this variant, now detected in nearly 50 samples in 11 states — Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu, and Karnataka — may potentially have immune evasive properties and may be capable of causing more severe disease.

    In a first-ever study in the world, declared ICMR director general Balram Bhargava on Friday, India will come up with its finding on how effective the vaccines are against the delta plus variant — which is B1.617.2 or delta variant with K1417N mutation — reported in 12 countries thus far.

    Such data is available nowhere globally, said Bhargava, adding that the report will be available in 7 to 10 days.

    In a press briefing on Friday on Covid19 status in the country, senior officials said that Covid vaccines — Covaxin and Covishield — are effective against coronavirus variants of concern, such as alpha, delta, gamma, and delta.

    The existing vaccines, however, have reduced effectiveness against the delta variant, which is now the most dominant variant in India and is being seen in nearly 90% of the samples.

    ALSO READ | 48 Delta Plus Covid variant cases detected in India; Maharashtra records highest: Government

    While Covishield has shown a two-fold reduction in neutralising antibodies, it is down by 3 fold in the case of Covaxin, Bhargava said, also assuring that vaccines can be modified structurally to work better against emerging variants. 

    “It can be done more easily in case of RNA vaccines but can also be done in case of whole inactivated virus-based vaccines and adenovirus-based vaccines,” he stressed.

    Department of biotechnology secretary Renu Swarup underscored that the reported delta plus variant cases in India, so far, are localised in some districts and have largely been seen in isolated cases. 

    Studies are underway currently to understand whether this variant is associated with increased transmissibility, change in virulence, or disease presentation and has any effect on diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines.

    S K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control highlighted that forming a scientific opinion on a variant takes time and clarified that the “plus” in the name of variant does not denote more virulence.

    “The plus is an addition of an existing variant due to its properties.  It does not mean that it is stronger than delta. If scientific evidence suggests so in future, we will inform the public about it,” he said.

  • No new Delta Plus COVID-19 variant cases found in Gujarat; two infected patients recovered

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Friday said there were no new coronavirus cases of Delta Plus variant in the state and the two patients who were found infected with the variant in April had recovered.

    Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, additional chief secretary, Health, Manoj Aggarwal said, “The Delta Plus variant was found in two persons in April. One of the patients was from Surat, while the other one was from Vadodara and both eventually recovered from the infection.”

    There were no new cases of Delta Plus variant at present, the official said.

    “Both patients are stable and our local teams are monitoring their condition. We also did their contact tracing, but did not find anyone else getting infected with Delta Plus variant because of them,” he said.

    Aggarwal further said that the state administration has been put on alert to tackle the situation and testing is also being done to detect this variant.

    Earlier in the day, the Centre had said that at least 48 coronavirus cases of Delta Plus variant have been detected from 45,000 samples sequenced so far in the country, with Maharashtra reporting the highest number of such cases at 20.

  • COVID: Rajasthan’s first case of Delta-plus variant found in Bikaner, patient took both doses of Covaxin

    By PTI
    BIKANER/AJMER: The first case of the Delta-plus variant of coronavirus in Rajasthan has been found in Bikaner.

    The sample of a woman who was tested positive for coronavirus was sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune on May 30 for genome sequencing and her test report came on Friday.

    “The Delta-plus variant was found in the woman’s sample. She has already recovered from the Covid infection,” Bikaner’s Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr O P Chahar, said.

    He said it was the first confirmed case of the Delta-plus variant in the state.

    “She was asymptomatic and has recovered completely. She had already received both doses of Covaxin,” Dr Chahar said.

    The CMHO said the sampling will be conducted on Saturday in the Bangla Nagar area where the woman lives.

    The Medical and Health Department’s joint director, Dr Devendra Chaudhary, said the woman is aged 65 years.

    The COVID-19 tally in Rajasthan, meanwhile, rose to 9,51,826 on Friday with 131 fresh cases, officials said.

    The death toll stood at 8,905 as no new fatality was reported in the state due to coronavirus.

    Of the 131 cases, 17 were reported from Jodhpur, among others.

    A total of 9,41,048 patients have recovered from the disease so far and there are 1,873 active cases in the state.

  • Third Covid wave could be smaller than the first wave, says ICMR study

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The mutations in coronavirus, waning population immunity or unrestricted mixing of people could drive a third nationwide Covid-19 wave in India, but it is unlikely to be as severe as the second wave, a new study by ICMR researchers has said.

    The scientific paper, jointly prepared by ICMR and Imperial College, London, study by Indian and UK researchers has indicated that while the timing and pattern of the third wave will depend on such factors, the size of the surge could remain either midway between the first two waves or be smaller than even the first wave.

    ICMR’s director general Balram Bhargava and chief scientist Samiran Panda are co-authors of the study.

    The paper published in the ICMR’s Indian Journal of Medical Research said that immune-mediated mechanisms- waning immunity or viral evolution for immune escape- are unlikely to drive a severe third wave if acting on their own, unless such mechanisms lead to a complete loss of protection among those previously exposed.

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

    Likewise, a new, more transmissible variant would have to exceed a high threshold of reproductive factor—rate at which an infected individual infects other—should need to be higher than 4.5 to cause a third wave on its own.

    However, plausible mechanisms for a third wave include a new variant that is more transmissible and at the same time capable of escaping prior immunity and lockdowns that are highly effective in limiting transmission and subsequently released.

    In both cases, any third wave seems unlikely to be as severe as the second wave, noted the researchers.

    The study titled “Plausibility of a third wave of Covid-19 in India: A mathematical modelling-based analysis” also said that the emergence of a third wave could be substantially mitigated by the expansion of vaccination.

    If the rollout of vaccine is in such a way so as to cover 40 per cent of the population with two doses over a period of three months following the end of the second wave, symptomatic cases could be reduced by around 55 %, the scientists said.

  • Why no large-scale testing to prevent spread of Delta plus variant: Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday asked the government why “large-scale testing is not being done” to check and prevent the spread of the Delta plus variant of coronavirus and how effective are the vaccines against it.

    Many experts feel that the Delta plus variant, which has been declared as a ‘variant of concern’ by the Union health ministry, may trigger a third wave of COVID-19 infections in the country.

    “Questions to the Modi government on Delta plus variant: Why is testing not being done on a large scale to check and prevent it? How effective are the vaccines against it and when will complete information be available? What is the plan to control it in the third wave of the virus,” he posed in a tweet in Hindi.

    India was hit severely by a brutal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with a shortage in oxygen supply at various hospitals adding to the woes.

    However, the number of cases have shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several days.

    From a daily case count of over 4 lakh, the number of new COVID-19 cases has been hovering around 50,000 in the last couple of days.

  • Vaccines work against ‘Delta plus’ COVID-19 variant: MP official

    Madhya Pradesh is among a handful of states where the cases of #39;Delta plus #39; variant have been found.