India Says Too Early to Judge Risk of Delta-Plus Covid Variant

India has found 48 cases of the Delta-plus Covid-19 variant across 11 states, but authorities say it is too early to tell whether it poses a significant threat like the strain that drove the nation’s devastating second wave, swamping the health system and overwhelming crematoriums.

A mutation of the Delta variant that’s seen as 50% more transmissible than other strains, Delta-plus has been found mostly in the state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital Mumbai, as well as Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The cases were found by sequencing 45,000 samples.