The highly transmissible variant of coronavirus, Delta variant, is now active in at least 174 districts of the country. The sub-lineage of the Delta variant of coronavirus, Delta Plus, is now active in 11 states of India, the Union Health Ministry of India said on Friday.
The Delta variant of coronavirus had a major contribution to the second wave of coronavirus infections that peaked in April-May, the Indian Government said. Data released by the Ministry also shows that the variant was active in 52 districts of the country in March and had spread to 174 districts by June.
Dr. Balram Bhargava, ICMR Chief, warned that even though the positivity rate of coronavirus infections is less than 5 percent in more than 500 districts, the second wave of the covid-19 should not be assumed to have ended. He further added that “the second wave of coronavirus infections is not yet over in the country. We have still got 75 districts that are reporting more than 10 percent prevalence, and we have 92 districts that have between 5 percent to 10 percent prevalence.”
He further said “these districts are crucial and it is possible for us to avoid the big third wave of coronavirus infections provided individuals and the society adhere to Covid-apprpopriate behaviour. If there is any indicative hotspot that we find, it needs to be identified and isolated.
The Health Ministry categorised the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 as a Variant of Concern (VOC) on Tuesday and even directed states to take up immediate containment measures in clusters where the infections had been detected.
