COVID Delta Plus variant not found in Singapore says MOH

Singapore — According to a senior Ministry of Health expert, no cases of the COVID-19 Delta plus variant have been found in Singapore so far till 24 Jun.

Associate Professor Mak, who was responding to a reporter’s question on an online conference call, chaired by the multi-ministry COVID-19 taskforce, said that for every COVID-19 case diagnosed in Singapore, officials will conduct phylogenetic research to determine the specific variant causing the infection “where possible.”

“We have not seen this so-called Delta plus variant and at this point in time, there’s insufficient information to determine whether it should be categorised as a variant of interest or variant of concern, but we will continue to monitor the situation,” he also stated.

The Delta plus variant, first discovered in Europe, has been declared as a “variant of concern” by Indian authorities.

According to India’s health ministry, research has shown that the so-called variation – or AY1 – spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells, and potentially resistant to monoclonal antibody treatment.

According to WHO head scientist Soumya Swaminathan, B16172 has become the disease’s global prevalent form. It has been found in over 80 countries and is the main force behind large rises in infection rates throughout the world.

In contrast, the Delta plus variation has been found in India, the United States, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, Russia, and China.

According to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), the largest global database of coronavirus genome sequences, Singapore has 823 cases of the Delta variant, with the most recent occurrence logged on by a team of medical researchers at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) on Jun 16.

But there have not been any cases yet of the new strain.

Divyanshi Singh is an intern at The Independent SG /TISG