E-Paper
Delta variant found in 13 Meerut samples gene sequenced in Delhi
The health department had sent 40 samples of Covid-19 positive patients from the microbiology lab of Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College in Meerut for genome sequencing to New Delhi. The reports of 15 were received and the Delta variant was found in 13 of them.
The Delta variant of the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease was found in 13 samples sent from Meerut to a New Delhi-based lab for genome sequencing, a health official here said on Monday.
The health department had sent 40 samples of Covid-19 positive patients from the microbiology lab of Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College in Meerut for genome sequencing to the New Delhi-based Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in June.
Meerut’s divisional surveillance officer Dr Ashok Taliyan said the reports of 15 of the 40 samples were received two days ago and the Delta variant of Covid-19 was found in 13 samples. Two other samples were tagged irrelevant.
Dr Taliyan said the reports of 25 more samples were yet to be received. More samples would be sent to the Delhi lab in the coming months for genome sequencing, he added.
He also said samples were often sent to the Delhi lab for genome sequencing to know how the virus was mutating and which variant was affecting the people.
Health officials were concerned after the Delta Plus variant was found in two patients of Covid-19 in eastern UP. The officials were relieved as no traces of Delta Plus were found in the samples sent from the Meerut region in western UP.
Meerut district has 67 active cases of Covid-19 at present. Out of the more than 5000 samples tested on Sunday, only one tested positive, according to official data.
Nevertheless, health officials have asked people to continue following Covid-19 protocols, wear masks and maintain a safe distance from one another and avoid going to public places to prevent a possible third wave of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, cluster vaccination was postponed in Meerut for July 13 as a limited number of vaccines were received.
Meerut district vaccination officer Dr Praveen Gautam said only 19,600 vaccines were received on July 12 (Monday) for the next three days vaccination. Therefore, all clusters were cancelled, and vaccination would be done only at static booths, he said.
