OREANDA-NEWS. The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has reported the first death of a person with a Delta Plus strain of coronavirus.

This variant is a mutation of the widespread delta strain (B.1.617.2). Earlier it was reported that in India identified about 40 cases of infection with the strain "delta plus". The Indian genomics consortium SARS-CoV-2 has recognized it as "an option of concern." According to scientists, it has increased permeability, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and a possible decrease in the response to monoclonal antibodies.

"It should be noted that four out of five people who tested positive for the delta plus variant received the vaccine and are now healthy. However, the patient who did not receive the vaccine died of the virus. That is why we urge everyone to get vaccinated." State Minister Vishwas Sarang told reporters.

According to a representative of local authorities, the death of a woman infected with the new strain occurred on May 23, her illness with the "delta plus" strain became known after the tests. He noted that the husband of the deceased had previously tested positive for COVID-19 and later received both doses of the vaccine, and the deceased was not vaccinated against the coronavirus.

"The government is monitoring the situation. Contact tracing has been conducted for those patients who tested positive for delta plus and their contact reports are negative," Sarang added.

India remains in second place in the world in the number of detected cases of coronavirus. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, since March last year, when the coronavirus pandemic began in the country, the total number of people infected with coronavirus in India has exceeded 30 million, more than 29 million have recovered, more than 391,000 have died, and the number of people receiving treatment has dropped to 627,000.