The Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 virus is causing concerns in Maharashtra with the death toll mounting to five.
The concerns come at a time when Maharashtra is unlocking after the second wave - and from August 15, the general public with twin vaccination doses are set to be allowed in suburban local trains of the Mumbai metropolitan region.
So far, Maharashtra has reported 66 Delta Plus variant cases and five deaths from this strain.
It may be recalled, an 80-year-old woman had expired in Ratnagiri on 25 June.
In the last couple of days, two deaths have been confirmed in Mumbai and neighbouring Raigad district.
A 69-year-old man diagnosed with Delta Plus has succumbed in Nagothane in Raigad, while a middle-aged woman infected with the variant is under treatment in nearby Uran town.
A day earlier, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received the Delta Plus positive sample reports of a 60-year-old woman from the eastern suburbs of the city, who had passed away on 24 July.
Another death has been reported in Ratnagiri and Beed on Friday, the Public Health and Family Welfare department confirmed.
Among the five who died, two had taken two Covid vaccine jabs.
The Maharashtra Health Department had confirmed the number of Delta Plus variant patients in the state at 66 till date, as per data from the CSIR’s Institute of Genomics Integrative Biology.
Among these 65, the highest 13 are from Jalgaon, 12 from Ratnagiri, 11 from Mumbai, six each in Thane and Pune, three in Palghar, two each in Raigad, Nanded, and Gondia, and one each from Sindhudurg, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Sangli, Beed, Nandurbar, Akola, and Chandrapur districts.
The patients include 33 women and 32 men.
Around 33 cases - or nearly half - of those infected are in the 19-45 age group, while 17 are 46-60 years and seven in the above-60 age group.
Maharashtra has so far reported 1.34 lakh deaths and 63 lakh progressive Covid-19 cases.