Delta Plus variant of Covid: Govt asks 8 States, UTs to enforce urgent containment steps

The Union Health Ministry has urged eight states and union territories to take up immediate containment measures including preventing crowds, conducting widespread testing as well as increasing vaccine coverage on a priority basis, in districts where the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus has been detected.

The measures were suggested by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Haryana.

He also urged state govts to ensure that adequate samples of people who test positive for Covid-19 are promptly sent to the designated laboratories of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) so that clinical and epidemiological correlations can be established.

Data released by the Health Ministry shows that the Delta variant was detected in 48 samples in 10 states, and is present in at least 174 districts of the country.