With Several States Unlocking, How Worrying is Delta Plus Variant?

The Delta Plus variant has been tagged as a variant of concern, leading to many fearing the start of a third wave.

The Big Story Podcast on Delta Plus Variant, States Unlocking After Second Wave.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

Several states have eased lockdown restrictions and have started opening up as the second wave of COVID-19 seems to ebbing across the country, with less than 50,000 cases being registered on 22 June.

However, the near re-opening of the economy also led to COVID norms like social distancing, wearing masks being blatantly defied by the public, especially in the national capital.

Photos of crowded markets and malls have been doing the rounds on social media. In Uttar Pradesh, thousands of devotees reported even gathered to take dip in Ganga, flouting all norms.

Meanwhile, a new mutation of the deadly Delta variant has also emerged, called the “Delta Plus”. The health ministry on 22 June tagged it as a “variant of concern,” as 40 cases have been country with this mutant variant.

Given that the second wave was born out of the lackadaisical attitude of the government and citizens, and the fact that majority of Indians are still not being vaccinated, are we unlocking too much too soon?

To answer this, for today’s episode, we spoke to Dr Shahid Jameel, a virologist and the Director of Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, and Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, a public system expert.