Step up measures to prevent spread of Delta plus, Centre to 7 states

Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan has written to the Chief Secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana to step up containment and contact tracing, as measures to prevent the spread of Delta Plus variant.They have been asked to take up immediate containment measures in affected districts and clusters including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis.

The Secretary has told them to ensure that adequate samples of positive persons are sent to the designated laboratories promptly so that the clinical epidemiological correlations can be established. The government said that it has detected 51 cases in 12 states from 45,000 samples tested. The NCDC director said that 22 cases of Delta Plus variant have been 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.