Assam CM says 'no case of Delta plus variant detected in the state'; to hold meet with PM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on July 10, said that the state currently had no cases of Delta Plus COVID variant and he would hold a meeting with PM Narendra Modi on July 13 to take stock of the vaccination status in northeastern states. 

The Assam CM informed that genomic sequencing is being carried out in the state. The process is implemented to determine the entirety of DNA sequencing of organisms; this will give a further analysis to provide a biological and medical meaning to the statistics received.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "As of now, there is no cases of Delta plus variant  in Assam. We are doing genomic sequencing in the state. Prime Minister will hold a meeting to take stock of vaccination status in northeastern states on Tuesday at 11 am."

Delta variant of COVID-19 now ‘Delta plus’ variant

The B.1.617 strain of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 inducing virus) has three subtypes – B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. Now, B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) is classified as a variant of concern and it has increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response and potential post-vaccination immune escape. The Delta variant has been identified as the primary cause that drove the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delta 'Plus' in India

More than 170 districts across India have detected the infection of Delta Plus variant of COVID-19. National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said most cases of Delta Plus variant has been found in Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Karnataka.

GOI has asserted that both COVID-19 vaccines—COVISHIELD and COVAXIN work against SARS-CoV-2 variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

COVID-19 tally

Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,29,693 on Friday as 2,493 more people tested positive for the infection, while 24 fresh fatalities pushed the states coronavirus death toll to 4,788, a health bulletin said.

The state now has 21,689 active cases, while 5,01,869 people have thus far recovered from the infection, including 2,841 in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stands at 94.75 per cent. The daily positivity rate stands at 2.13 per cent.

More than 77.87 lakh people have been inoculated so far, of whom 13.28 lakh have received both doses.