The new cases of Delta Plus, an emerging form of the highly contagious Delta variant in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, kept the authorities on their toes in India.
The Centre on Wednesday asked the three states to strengthen containment measures, increase testing and vaccinations. So far, around 41 cases of the Delta Plus variant, classified as a ‘variant of concern’ by India, has popped up in four states including Tamil Nadu which reported its first case on Wednessy.
Viruses mutate all the time and not all changes are worrisome. But this classification, according to AP, implies that there is some evidence the variant has genetic tweaks that allow it to spread more easily, make people sicker or vaccinations less effective.
The Delta Plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, which was first identified in India and has since spread to many parts of the world. The delta variant is more infectious and vaccines are slightly less effective against it.
According to AP, Delta Plus has an additional genetic tweak that could allow it to evade the human immune system. PTI reported that the Delta Plus is resistant to the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for COVID-19 recently authorised in India.
The new Delta Plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India and one of the drivers of the deadly second wave.
The delta plus variant emerged as a key concern in the Uttarakhand High Court during a hearing of a PIL. The court reprimanded the state government for the manner in which it was preparing to deal with the third wave of COVID-19 and asked it to gear up for the highly contagious variant.
“Stop fooling us and tell us the truth. Don’t tell the Chief Justice that there is Ram Rajya in Uttarakhand and that we live in heaven. Show us the ground realities,” the high court said.
Reprimanding health secretary Amit Negi while hearing a PIL related to the Uttarakhand government’s handling of COVID-19, a division bench comprising Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said the Delta Plus variant of COVID will not sit back and wait for the government to get ready.
Around 21 COVID-19 cases of the Delta plus variant had been found so far in seven districts in Maharashtra. The state health minister Rajesh Tope said that a separate hospital ward for patients infected with the Delta Plus variant.
“These are the index cases of Delta plus variant and its severity could be higher. The study of this variant has indicated that it could be more virulent compared to the previous mutants,” he said.
He said 100 samples each from 36 districts of Maharashtra have been taken and sent for genome sequencing. “The total sample size is as big as 7,500,” Tope added.
A member of the Maharashtra COVID task force Dr Shashank Joshi earlier on Wednesday said enough data was not available about the new variant and the extent of its virulence.
The Delta variant was the newsmaker abroad as well. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned that the Delta variant could account for 90 percent of the European Union’s total cases by the end of August.
The announcement by the ECDC director followed a call for “enhanced vigilance” by French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal. The delta variant is estimated to represent 9 to 10 percent overall in France, he said.
But authorities are closely monitoring the situation in a region of southwestern France, the Landes, where 70 percent of confirmed infections are due to the delta variant, he added.
France on Wednesday also added Russia, Namibia and Seychelles to its “red list” of countries from which travels are banned unless it is for urgent reasons as they are struggling with virus surges and worrisome variants. With this, the list now includes 21 countries, including India, South Africa and Brazil.
The new Delta Plus variant has been found in the US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China and Russia.
India COVID tally crosses 3 crore
On Wednesday, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed 3 crore with one crore infections being added in 50 days. The total tally mounted to 3,00,28,709, with 50,848 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day.
The death toll climbed to 3,90,660 with 1,358 fresh fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
India’s total COVID-19 infections had surpassed the one on 19 December after which it took around 136 days to cross 2 crore on 4 May.
The active cases further declined to 6, 43,194 comprising 2.14 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.56 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
A net decline of 19,327 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
One in two Indian using cloth masks that don’t protect from coronavirus
Despite a devastating second wave and a probable ‘dangerous’ third wave right around the corner, mask-wearing compliance still remains low in India, including at vaccination centres.
“Despite the most lethal COVID-19 wave that any country in the world has experienced so far, India’s mask compliance is still low as indicated by the survey finding where 67 percent of citizens said there is limited or no mask compliance in their area, district, or city,” as per the survey conducted by the online social media platform LocalCircles. The survey received over 33,000 responses from citizens located in 312 districts of the country.
The findings of the survey also indicate that one in two Indians were wearing cloth masks which may not provide them with the needed protection against the highly transmissible variants like Delta and the Delta Plus.
Many Indians since 2020 have been using cloth masks, some even using ones made at home, assuming that they will provide the necessary protection from COVID-19 while that may not be the case with the new Delta variant, it said.
Cases in states
Kerala reported 12,787 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the caseload to 28,42,247, while 150 deaths took the toll to 12,445. As many as 13,683 persons have been cured of the disease, taking the total recoveries so far to 27,29,967 and the active cases to 99,390, the state government said in a press release here.
The concern, however, was the emergence of a large community cluster of the ‘Delta Plus’ variant in the Kadapra grama panchayat of Pathanamthitta district, reports said. The local police have been directed to strictly control the movement of people to and from the region, The Hindu reported.
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases after a gap of one week, taking its tally to 59,97,587, the state health department said.
Andhra Pradesh reported 4,684 fresh cases of coronavirus, 7,324 recoveries and 36 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. Consequently, the total positive cases increased to 18,62,036, recoveries to 17,98,380 and deaths to 12,452, the latest bulletin said.
In Karnataka, 4,436 new COVID-19 cases and 123 deaths were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to 28.19 lakh and the toll to 34,287.
The day also saw 6,455 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 26,68,705.
The daily COVID-19 cases were 1,114 in Telangana, 240 in Goa, 208 in Uttar Pradesh, 138 in Gujarat, 111 in Delhi, 84 in Madhya Pradesh, and 44 in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas the daily deaths were at 12 in Telangana, five in Goa, 55 in Uttar Pradesh, three in Gujarat, seven in Gujarat, 21 in Madhya Pradesh and four in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Telangana, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 129 followed by Rangareddy (75) and Nalgonda (72) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 pm today.
As for Uttar Pradesh, of the 55 deaths, 15 were reported each from Lucknow and Prayagraj, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
Nagaland on Wednesday reported zero deaths for the first time since the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic, a health official said. The total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the state stand at 477, so far.
COVID costs: Telangana fixes ceiling; Kerala HC stays order allowing private hospital to decide charges
The Telangana govt on Wednesday fixed the ceiling on rates to be charged by private hospitals and laboratories for COVID-19 treatment and testing. According to the 22 June Government Order, the rate per day for routine ward and Isolation will be Rs 4,000.
In Kerala, the Kerala High Court stayed a state government order permitting private hospitals to fix room rent for COVID-19 patients.
When counsel for the state government drew the court’s attention to the matter, the high court said the new order “takes away much of the laudatory objective of its first order dated 10 May, 2021, because, as is clear therefrom, the rates fixed for the beds includes all corollary charges like nursing, boarding, doctor’s fee, etc”.
“We are of the view that such a display would be of no avail to an ordinary person who approaches forCOVID-19 treatment. At that time, he would really have no choice, his life being in peril,” the court of Justice Devan Ramachandran said, staying the order.
COVID-19 test mandatory for people attending weddings in Maharashtra’s Beed district
Faced with crowding at public places, the administration in Maharashtra’s Beed district has made coronavirus test mandatory for people attending weddings, while only 50 guests will be permitted at the venue, an official said on Wednesday.
In a fresh order about weddings, Beed district collector Ravindra Jagtap said that the administration had observed crowding at marriage ceremonies despite restrictions.
‘Third wave’ won’t strain the health system if COVID behaviour is followed; Centre
Amid the growing concern for the third wave, and Delta Plus variant, Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that if effective containment strategies and Covid appropriate behaviour are followed, the number of cases in the third wave will not be to the extent that the health system comes under strain.
Agarwal also said that many beneficiaries, especially in rural and tribal areas, fail to get themselves vaccinated owing to myths, rumours, misinformation and disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine shared on social media.
“While busting myths is important, it is also critical to remind communities about the role of Covid appropriate behaviour in breaking the virus transmission chain,” he said.
Agarwal also said that 2.2 percent of India’s population has been affected by the disease so far.
“This should also make us wary of protecting the still vulnerable or susceptible 97 percent population. We cannot let our guards down, hence, continued focus on containment is critical,” he added.
With inputs from agencies