Covid's Delta Plus variant detected in Tripura, first time in North East

Health workers ride a boat of Covid-19 vaccine for flood-affected people in Muzaffarpur on Saturday. Pic/PTI

The highly infectious Delta Plus variant of Coronavirus has been found for the first time in Tripura after the Delta strain was detected in three northeastern states - Assam, Manipur and Mizoram, doctors said on Saturday. Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) Microbiology department head Tapan Majumdar said that after the samples of Tripura were tested in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) at Kalyani in West Bengal, 138 cases of Delta Plus, 10 cases of Delta (plain) and three cases of the UK variant were found in the state.

Majumdar, who was present along with Director of Health and Family Welfare Radha Debbarma and Covid-19 Surveillance Officer Deep Kumar Debbarma, said that the Delta Plus strain is more transmissible and evades the body's immunity. "It is a cause of concern that the Delta Plus variants were found in all the eight districts of Tripura and the Delta [plain] and UK variants found in few districts," he said.

Majumdar said that the Delta Plus strain can also reduce the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine. The Delta variant has been found for the first time in Assam and then in Manipur and Mizoram following which the doctors and authorities have asked people to be more cautious and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

Vax coverage exceeds 37 cr

India's cumulative Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed 37 crore on Friday with 30,55,802 doses administered across the country in the last 24 hours. A total of 37,21,96,268 doses have been administered through 48,04,423 sessions, as per the provisional report of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) till 7 am on Saturday.

Record 2.5 cr doses in K'taka

By administering a record 2.5 crore doses till date since the vaccination drive was launched across the state on January 16, Karnataka ranked first in south India in inoculating a maximum number of its eligible population, said state Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday. According to the state health bulletin, 2,52,07,840 people, including senior citizens above 45 years, healthcare workers, frontline warriors and those in the 18-44 age group received the jab over the last six months.

India records 42,766 cases

India has logged 42,766 new Covid-19 infections taking the total tally to 3,07,95,716, while the active cases have declined to 4,55,033. The death toll has climbed to 4,07,145, with 1,206 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.48 per cent of the total infections and the national recovery rate is 97.20 per cent.

Karnataka intensifies vector control measure

The Karnataka Health Department has instructed officials to intensify vector control measures in the state, in view of reporting of Zika Virus Disease (ZVD) in neighbouring Kerala. The districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chamarajanagara, bordering Kerala, have been asked to be more vigilant.

ICMR urged to prescribe ‘Kadaknath'

Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh has urged the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to prescribe ‘Kadaknath' therapy from the state's black-feathered poultry breed for those recovering from post-Covid-19 complications. In the letter to the Director-General of ICMR, Krishi Vigyan Kendra senior scientist and head claimed that Kadaknath-based products like meat, eggs and soup could provide necessary nutritional support.

3,07,95,716
Total No. of cases in the country as of Saturday

4,07,145
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

2,99,33,538
Patients recovered and discharged in India as of Saturday

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