Delta Plus variant: Centre asks Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures
Bengaluru: The Centre has urged Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures, including preventing crowds, conducting widespread testing as well as increasing vaccine coverage on a priority basis in districts where the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 has been detected.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar in this regard.
Pointing out that this variant has been found in Mysuru district, the letter dated June 25 said, "the Public Health Response, in this case while broadly remaining the same, has to become more focused and stringent."
"Thus, you are requested to take up immediate containment measures in these districts and clusters including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis," it said.
The letter also asks the state to ensure that adequate samples of positive persons are sent to the designated laboratories of INSACOG promptly so that the clinical epidemiological correlations can be established.
Similar measures have been suggested to seven states other than Karnataka.
According to INSACOG, the Delta Plus variant which is currently a Variant of Concern (VOC) has characteristics like, increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday had held a meeting with senior Ministers and officials and instructed officials to maintain vigil over the "Delta Plus" variant of coronavirus, especially in border districts.
Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday had said there are two cases of Delta plus variant in the state, one in Bengaluru and the other in Mysuru, both with mild symptoms.
Six genome sequencing labs are being set up at Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Hubballi, Mangaluru and Vijayapura.
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8 dead, dozens wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine's Odesa port
Kyiv (AP): Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late on Friday, Ukraine's Emergency Service said on Saturday morning.
Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicentre of the overnight strike, the service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.
The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.
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Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.
The nighttime attack on Friday hit the Russian warship “Okhotnik,” according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app.
The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement added.
A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea was also hit. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Ukrainian drones also struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
