Raigad district has recorded its first death due to the Delta Plus variant, with a 66-year-old journalist from Nagothane testing positive on July 5 and succumbing to the infection on July 22, a civic official said. This was the third death recorded due to the variant in Maharashtra.
District surgeon Suhas Mane said a 44-year-old teacher from Uran also tested positive for the variant on July 5. “The teacher had mild symptoms and recovered after receiving treatment at home,” he said.
Dr. Mane said the journalist who died had comorbidities. Their samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune and both reports returned positive for the variant. Both patients had been fully vaccinated.
A total of 43 people who came in contact with them were tested and nine tested positive for COVID-19. None of them were infected with the Delta variants. Dr. Mane said, “Though COVID-19 cases are dipping, the new strains are more dangerous. People still need to follow all safety norms.”
