COVID-19: Maharashtra reports 27 new cases of Delta Plus variant; tally reaches to 103

The cases of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Maharashtra has gone up to 103 after 27 new infections were reported in the state, the state health department said on Tuesday.

According to the health department, six cases each were detected in Gadchiroli and Amravati, five in Nagpur, four in Ahmednagar, three in Yavatmal, two in Nashik and one in Bhandara district.

As per official data, there are 53,433 active cases of COVID-19 in Maharashtra.

"The cumulative cases of COVID-19 in the state stands at 62,38,794, while as many as 1,36,067 people have succumbed to the infection so far," the Union Health Ministry said.

An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study conducted in Chennai has found that the Delta variant has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, but it reduces mortality among the former group.

According to a study published in the Journal of Infection on August 17 and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai indicates that the prevalence of the Delta variant or B.1.617.2 was not different between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.

"B.1.617.2 has the potential to infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, the progression of illness seems to be prevented by vaccination. Therefore, non-pharmaceutical interventions must continue to slow down the transmission. Additionally, the pace and scale of vaccination have to be increased to mitigate the further waves of the pandemic," the report read.

( With inputs from ANI )