Mumbai reports first Delta Plus COVID variant death; second in Maharashtra so far

Mumbai has recorded its first death from the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19. A 63-year-old woman succumbed to the infection on July 27 after testing positive on July 21. 

The woman was fully vaccinated and didn't have any travel history, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials told India Today. 

However, she had lung infection and had been sick before contracting COVID-19. 

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This is Maharashtra's second death from Delta Plus COVID strain after an 80-year-old woman in Ratnagiri, infected with the variant, passed away last month. She was also suffering from other diseases.

The BMC obtained the 63-year-old woman's genome sequencing report recently which revealed that she was infected with Delta Plus variant of COVID-19, deemed to be highly infectious.

Simultaneously, six of her family members have also been infected with the novel coronavirus. Two of them were detected to be infected with the Delta Plus strain while the genome sequencing reports of four other members are awaited. Meanwhile, the two family members infected with the Delta Plus variant are stable.

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"The two are doing fine and the report of the rest of the four members is still awaited," said a BMC official.

Currently, there are 65 Delta Plus variant cases in Maharashtra, of which 11 are in Mumbai. The Centre has already declared Delta Plus strain as a variant of concern.