Mumbai: The Delta variant has been detected in more than 300 Covid samples in the city, shows the genome sequence report issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. 304 of the 376 samples sent for sequencing showed the presence of Delta variant, while two were diagnosed with the 19A subtype, four with the 20A subtype of SARS-CoV-2 and the remaining 66 were the regular strain of Covid. However, no Delta-plus variant was found in any of the samples.
Last week, samples had been collected from patients for genome sequencing, officials from the civic health department informed. These samples were collected from international passengers, Covid-19 hotspots and places with high transmission rates among others. “None of the samples has been detected with the Delta-plus variant, but further analysis is required. Citizens need to continue adhering to Covid-appropriate norms so that the virus is not spread,” he said.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said that last month, 128 samples had shown the presence of the Delta variant, of which 93 were from Mumbai. Following this discover, 1,194 high-risk contacts of these patients were subjected to RT-PCR tests and 80 people had tested positive, while the rest showed no symptoms. “Whether cases decrease or increase, we can only urge citizens to continue following Covid norms. We are prepared to handle the third wave of Covid,” he said.
