The Union Health Ministry on Friday asked seven chief secretaries to take immediate containment measures in districts where cases of patients infected with the Delta plus variant of Covid-19 have been found. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to chief secretaries asking them to implement immediate containment measures and ensure proper compliance with Covid-19 measures.

Bhushan wrote to the chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, warning them against allowing people to mingle and come together. “You know that INSACOG is a consortium of laboratories for whole genome sequencing in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. INSACOG is responsible not only for all genome sequencing, but also for providing timely information on appropriate public health responses in specific geographic areas where variants have been found, ”the letter said.

The Ministry of Health informed the Chief Secretaries that based on the data received from INSACOG so far, it has found that the Delta Plus variants have three main characteristics – increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors lung cells, a potential reduction in the monoclonal antibody response.

Bhushan in his letter said widespread testing, rapid tracing as well as priority vaccination coverage are needed. He stressed the immediate need to implement containment measures in these districts and clusters.

The following districts were asked to step up their response after the discovery of the Delta Plus variant –

• Tamil Nadu – Madurai, Kanchipuram and Chennai
• Karnataka – Mysore
• Andhra Pradesh – Tirupati
• Gujarat – Surat
• Haryana – Faridabad
• Punjab – Patiala, Ludhiana
• Jammu and Kashmir – Katra

The government said it had detected 51 cases in 12 states out of 45,000 samples tested. The NCDC director said 22 cases of the Delta Plus variant were found in Maharashtra, followed by nine in Tamil Nadu, seven in Madhya Pradesh, three in Kerala, two each in Punjab and Gujarat, and one case each. in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Karnataka.