Rajasthan’s first case of Delta Plus variant found in Bikaner

Official said it was the first confirmed case of the Delta Plus variant in the state

The first case of the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Rajasthan has been found in Bikaner. The sample of a woman who was tested positive for coronavirus was sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune on May 30 for genome sequencing and her test report came on Friday.

“The Delta-plus variant was found in the woman's sample. She has already recovered from the Covid infection,” Bikaner’s Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr O P Chahar, said. He said it was the first confirmed case of the Delta-plus variant in the state.

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“She was asymptomatic and has recovered completely. She had already received both doses of Covaxin,” Dr Chahar said. The CMHO said the sampling will be conducted on Saturday in the Bangla Nagar area where the woman lives. The Medical and Health Department’s joint director, Dr Devendra Chaudhary, said the woman is aged 65 years. The Covid-19 tally in Rajasthan, meanwhile, rose to 9,51,826 on Friday with 131 fresh cases, officials said.

The death toll stood at 8,905 as no new fatality was reported in the state due to coronavirus. Of the 131 cases, 17 were reported from Jodhpur, among others. A total of 9,41,048 patients have recovered from the disease so far and there are 1,873 active cases in the state.