No case of Delta Plus COVID variant reported from sample sequencing in Tripura: Centre

NEW DELHI: No case of the Delta plus variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported from the samples sequenced in Tripura, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The clarification by the ministry came amid some media reports claiming rising cases of the Delta plus variants in the northeastern state.

The ministry in this regard informed that 152 samples were sent from Tripura to the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) in Kalyani for Whole Genome Sequence (WGS).

The random samples were of people tested RT-PCR positive between April and May 2021, it said.

The results of the WGS done at NIBMG Kalyani revealed that three samples had tested positive for B.1.1.7 variant.

While 11 samples had tested positive for the B.1.617.1(Kappa) variant and 138 samples had tested positive for B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, the ministry said.

"There was no case of Delta plus reported among the aforementioned lot of sequenced samples," it said.