New Delhi: Around 90 cases of the Delta plus variant, classified as a variant of concern (VOC), have been detected in Tripura through the genome sequencing of samples. “The northeastern state had sent 151 RT-PCR samples for genome sequencing in West Bengal. Of these, more than 90 samples were found to be Delta Plus variants. It is a matter of concern”, said Dr Deep Debbarma, the COVID-19 nodal officer. Notably, this is the first reported case of the highly transmissible variant of coronavirus in the northeast.
The development comes days after Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the Northeastern states and all Union Territories (UTs) in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases there. It was also noted that out of 73 districts in the country with CPR above 10 per cent, 45 are in the northeast, where strict containment measures need to be taken as per extant guidelines.
Earlier last week, the Central government had deputed multi-disciplinary teams to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura, besides three other states, to asses the public health situation there and advise remedial action to the state governments concerned.
Weekend Curfew in Tripura
Meanwhile, a 24-hour weekend curfew will be reimposed in Tripura from Saturday 12 pm to Monday 6 am to break the chain of the transmission.
While addressing a press conference yesterday, Revenue Secretary Tanushree Deb Barma said, “A weekend curfew will be imposed in Tripura starting from Saturday 12 noon to Monday 6 am with various restrictions.”
As per the Union Health Ministry, Tripura reported 4175 active COVID-19 cases, 472 discharges and six deaths yesterday.
The northeastern state has so far witnessed 68,148 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which, 694 have succumbed to the infection.