Sindh reports 35 cases of Indian Delta COVID-19 variant

KARACHI: As many as 35 cases of the Indian Delta variant of the COVID-19 have been reported in Sindh, confirmed provincial health department on Tuesday, ARY News reported.

Secretary health Sindh, Qasim Soomro said five members of a family hailing from Karachi’s Lyari confirmed infected with the Indian Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The condition of four people is said to be critical and they are currently hospitalised. Soomro further said that the authorities are tracing the people who met with the infected people recently in a bid to control the spread of the deadly variant.

The citizens have been advised to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible to avoid the further spread of the virus.

Read more: Delta variant puts brakes on return to post-Covid normality

Earlier this month, 20 people were diagnosed with the delta variant of Covid-19 in the Rawalpindi district.

What is the Delta variant of Covid-19?

Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally. One of these is the B.1.617 lineage, detected in India earlier this year. Early evidence suggests that its sub-lineage B.1.617.2, known as the Delta variant, is more transmissible than contemporary lineages.

The World Health Organizaton (WHO), which has given it the label Delta, has categorised it as a variant of concern (VOC). It has said it continues to observe “significantly increased transmissibility” and a “growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated with this variant”.

WHO classifies a variant as a VOC when it is associated with an increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology; increase in virulence; or decrease in the effectiveness of public health measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics.