Maharashtra reports 10 more Delta plus variant cases; tally up to 76

Ten more cases of the Delta plus variant of coronavirus, considered highly infectious, have been detected in

Maharashtra, taking their overall tally to 76, the state health department said on Monday. Five patients infected with the variant have died so far in the state. The health department, in a statement here said, six of the 10 new cases of the Delta plus variant were found in Kolhapur, followed by three in Ratnagiri and one in Sindhudurg.

All the 10 patients have completely recovered, it said. According to the statement, so far the highest patients of Delta plus - at 15 - have been found in Ratnagiri district followed by Jalgaon, Mumbai and Kolhapur districts at 13, 11 and seven cases, respectively. Thane and Pune districts have recorded six cases each, Palghar and Raigad districts three each, Nanded, Gondia and Sindhudurg two each and Chandrapur, Akola, Sangli, Nandurbar, Aurangabad and Beed has one case each. Of the 76 patients of the Delta plus variant, five - two from Ratnagiri and one each from Mumbai, Beed and Raigad - have died, according to the statement. The deceased - three females and two males - were above the age of 65 years and suffering from high-risk illnesses, it said. The department stated, "80 per cent of the samples sent for genome sequencing had tested positive for the Delta plus variant (of coronavirus)." Of the 76 patients, 39 were in the 19 to 45 age group, 19 in the 46 to 60 age bracket, nine were over 60 years and another nine were under 18, according to the statement. Of the total patients - 39 females and 37 males - 10 had taken both the doses of coronavirus vaccines, while 12 others had received only the first shot, according to the department. Of the vaccinate patients, two had taken Covaxin and the remaining Covishield, it said. Of the total Delta plus patients, 71 have already recovered and 37 of them were without any symptoms or showed mild symptoms, the statement said.