Maharashtra mulls stricter curbs amid Delta Plus Covid cases

Taking serious note of the Delta Plus variant Covid-19 cases found in the state, Maharashtra is mulling stricter restrictions as the transmissibility and virulence of the strain is more than the other variants

Taking serious note of the Delta Plus variant Covid-19 cases found in the state, Maharashtra is mulling stricter restrictions as the transmissibility and virulence of the strain is more than the other variants. The matter was discussed in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will also be holding a discussion with the state task force before reaching a decision.

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State health minister Rajesh Tope said they have decided to isolate all 21 Delta Plus cases. It has also decided to start contact-tracing and testing of high-risk and low-risk contacts of index cases and will also conduct genome sequencing of all those found Covid positive. The state is also sending a detailed report sought by the Centre.

The state has found 21 cases, covering six districts. Of them, nine cases are in Ratnagiri, seven in Jalgaon, two in Mumbai and one case each in Thane, Palghar and Sindhudurg.

“Delta Plus variant is found to be the common cause behind the places where the third wave is coming. This is a matter of concern for Maharashtra as well as the state has also found cases of Delta Plus. A few ministers opined that the state should reconsider its decision of a five-level relaxation plan. Chief minister will be discussing it with the task force members before taking any decision,” said a senior minister, requesting anonymity.

The health minister said, “The daily cases have hit a plateau as they are not going down, which is a cause for concern for us. They have been stagnant between 8,000 and 10,000 for the past 10-12 days.”

A senior official privy to the development said the daily testing has also been reduced in the state. “If the daily testing increased to around 300,000 a day then daily cases will come anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 cases,” he said.

Tope also informed that the Delta Plus, formed by mutation in the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, has been classified as a “variant of concern” from the current “variant of interest” by the Union health ministry.

“With the help of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), the state government has taken up a project of genome sequencing of positive patients and found 21 Delta Plus variants in 3,400 samples. The percentage is too less (0.005%), which indicates that the Delta Plus, has not replaced the Delta variant, but its behaviour and effects are not good,” the health minister said.

“The state government has kept all the 21 patients in isolation. They will be monitored round the clock. For further studies, we will be checking their travel history, if they are re-infected or got infected even after getting vaccinated as the Delta Plus is capable of escaping antibodies that are developed with the help of Covid-19 vaccine,” Tope said.

He said that the positive side is that the state has reported not a single death among the 21 Delta Plus variant cases and a few patients found to have recovered.

“The Centre on Wednesday has informed Maharashtra that they have put the Delta Plus virus from ‘variant of interest’ (VOI) to ‘variant of concern’ (VOC), because of its transmissibility and virulence, which is more than the Delta Plus variant. It also has the ability to escape the antibodies,” Tope said.