Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in at least 80 per cent of samples sent by the Delhi government for genome sequencing in the last three months.
The health department during a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority said that the Delta variation (B.1.617.2) was discovered in 83.3 per cent of the samples received for genome sequencing in Delhi in July.
The variation was detected in 81.7 per cent and 88.6 per cent of the samples in the months of May and June, respectively. Earlier, in April, it was identified in 53.9 per cent of the samples.
The Delta variation was discovered in 1,689 of the 5,752 samples from Delhi analysed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) so far, according to the data.
In 947 samples, the Alpha variant ( B.1.1.7) was found.
The World Health Organization has designated both Alpha and Delta variants of SAR-CoV-2 as "variants of concern."
In December 2020, the Delta variation was discovered in India, and it has since been found in over 95 nations. It was largely responsible for the catastrophic second wave of the Covid pandemic, which infected lakhs of people and killed thousands across the country.
Also Read: At 28,204, India records lowest Covid count in 5 months
Last year, the Alpha strain was discovered for the first time in the United Kingdom.
With 28,204 new cases of Coronavirus, India has recorded the lowest cases in 147 days and 373 deaths in the last 24 hours. A total of 41,511 patients were discharged, taking the total recovery tally to 3,11,80,968, showed the health ministry data. The country has 3,88,508 active cases at present.
The total death toll in the country stands at 4,28,682. The recovery rate stands at 97.4%. As many as 51,45,00,268 people are vaccinated in the country. As of Monday, 9 August, a total of 48,32,78,545 samples for covid have been tested in the country.
Maximum Coronavirus cases registered in the top five states are - Kerala with 13,049 cases, which is followed by Maharashtra with 4,505 cases, Tamil Nadu with 1,929 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 1,413 cases and Karnataka with 1,186 cases.