Bhubaneswar: First case of Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Odisha, informed Dr SK Singh, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director, today.

The case is among the 48 Delta Plus variants detected in the country, till date. Health Department sources said the case belongs to Deogarh district.

CBK Mohanty, DMET, Odisha said the local administration will carry out contact tracing and check travel history of the person.

The first case of Delta Plus Variant of COVID-19 virus in Odisha was detected after genome sequencing in the 2nd week of May. Around 600 genome sequencings were conducted after that while no case of Delta Plus Variant was found, informed ILS Director Ajay Parida.

Recently, Government of India had elevated the variant's tag from 'Variant of Interest' to 'Variant of Concern'. The strain is seemingly more contagious that sprang from the original Delta variant (first detected in India), as tends to happen with many viruses.