Covid-19 Variants Of Concern Found In 174 Districts Of Maharashtra, Delhi, Bengal, Other States: Govt

The Health Ministry said the highest numbers of Variants of Concern have been reported from the districts in Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat.

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New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday said the Variants of Concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV2 (Coronavirus) have been found in as many as 174 districts in 35 states and Union Territories (UTs) of the country.

The Health Ministry said the highest numbers of Variants of Concern have been reported from the districts in Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat.

“Variants of Concern of public health importance detected in community samples in India are Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta,” the Health Ministry added.

The Health Ministry said the B.1.617 lineage, first observed in Maharashtra, was associated with the unusual rise observed in several districts of the state, adding it is now found in many states in India.

The Health Ministry further said the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) is a national multi-agency consortium of Genome Sequencing Laboratories (RGSLs) laboratories established by the Government of India on December 30, 2020.

Stating this consortium initially had 10 laboratories, the Health Ministry added that subsequently the scope of laboratories under INSACOG was expanded and at present there are 28 laboratories under this consortium which monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2.