Nine Delta Plus Covid variant cases in TN

MADURAI: Nine cases of Delta Plus variant of Covid have been reported in TN. It includes four in Chennai, three from Tiruvallur, one from Kancheepuram and a deceased patient from Madurai.

Principal Secretary to the Department of Medical and Family Welfare Dr J Radhakrishnan told TNIE that of the nine cases, three were identified from the batch of samples sent for genomic sequencing by the State Medical Department through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, while the six cases were identified among the batch of samples sent separately by the Indian Council for Medical Research - National Institute of Epidemiology.

According to the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine , a total of 1,159 samples were collected from all districts from December last year to May, by the State medical department and were sent to the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) at Bengaluru for genomic sequencing. Of them, the results of 772 samples arrived, from which three samples (0.4%) have been identified with the Variant of Concern (VOC) -- Delta Plus variant.

The three identified cases include a 32-year-old nurse from Chennai (who recovered and is in good health), a 26-year-old male from Kancheepuram (who recovered and is in good health) and 34-year-old man from Madurai who died due to Covid, said the statement issued by the DPH&PM.

According to the Madurai district health department, the deceased 34-year-old patient who died at a private medical college hospital on April 26, had tested positive for Covid on April 21.Further, in a separate exercise, the ICMR-NIE had also lifted 539 samples from three triaging centres from April 23 - May 7, and had sent it to the National Institute of Virology at Pune for genomic sequencing, said Dr Radhakrishnan. The results for 421 samples have arrived, of which six samples (1.4%) have been identified with the Delta Plus variant, he added. Three are in Chennai and three in Tiruvallur districts.