By Waikhom Chitradhani
Imphal (Manipur), July 4 : The number of Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in Manipur rose to 87 with 69 more cases confirmed by the state Health department on Friday.
Spread of the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant (also known as the B.1.617.2 strain) was detected when 18 of the 20 samples sent for testing in a lab in Hyderabad were found to be positive for the variant that was first identified in India on June 18 last.
The state Health department said that state IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) has reported that nasopharyngeal swabs collected from 69 individuals have been confirmed as Delta Variant positive.
Meanwhile , eight more Covid deaths were reported taking the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the state to 1,196.
In the past twenty-four hours, 643 persons were confirmed as new COVID-19 positive cases, according to the Health Department. Imphal West remains the major contributor of daily spike with 242 new cases.
