While India is coming out of the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, new concerns have cropped up recently. The Delta variant, reportedly the more transmissible strain of Covid-19, is expected to become a ‘dominant lineage’ if current trends continue, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned after it was detected in 85 countries and continues to be detected in more places around the world. This was part of the Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released by WHO on June 22.

Further, on June 23, the Union Health Ministry stated that around 40 cases of the Delta Plus variant [a sub-lineage of the Delta variant], classified as a variant of concern (VOC), have been detected sporadically in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. As reported by Mid-day, so far 21 cases of the new variant have been found across seven districts in Maharashtra, with coastal Ratnagiri topping the list.