India categorises ‘Delta Plus’ as ‘Variant of Concern’, advises Kerala-Maharashtra-MP to enhance Covid testing

The Centre has advised the states that adequate samples of positive persons must be promptly sent to designated laboratories of INSACOG so that the clinical epidemiological correlations can be made.

• The Centre has advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh to take up immediate containment measures
• The state Chief Secretaries have been advised to take up immediate measures, including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis

New Delhi: Taking cognizance of the alarming situation amid a new mutated variant of the SARS-CoV-2 strain, the Union Ministry of Health has on Tuesday advised three states to take up immediate containment measures and enhance testing to preemptively prevent an adverse situation.

The Centre has advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh on the new ‘Delta Plus’ variant and asked the states to take up immediate containment measures, enhance testing and tracking, and ramp up vaccination in districts and clusters where the new variant is found.

Further, the central government has stated that adequate samples of positive persons must be promptly sent to designated laboratories of INSACOG so that the clinical epidemiological correlations can be made.

“The government of India has been proactively working towards effective Covid-19 management by sustained strengthening of multi-level health and testing infrastructure, and through focussed public health measures in active collaboration with the states. Based on the recent findings of INSACOG, the Union Health Ministry has alerted and advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh regarding the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 being found in some districts in these States. The Ministry has communicated to these three states this variant has been found in genome sequenced samples from Ratnagiri and Jalgaon Districts of Maharashtra; Palakkad and Pathanamthitta Districts of Kerala; and Bhopal and Shivpuri Districts of Madhya Pradesh,” the Health Ministry said in an official statement on Tuesday.

Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing Consortia (INSACOG) – a consortium of four city clusters of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Pune – has informed that the Delta Plus has the following characteristics:

• Increased transmissibility
• Stronger binding to receptors of lung cells
• Potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response

“INSACOG is tasked with not just the whole genome sequencing but also for giving timely inputs on appropriate public health response measures to be adopted by states and Union Territories. The state Chief Secretaries have been advised to take up immediate containment measures in the districts and clusters (as identified by INSACOG) including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis,” the Health Ministry further said.