Maharashtra on Friday reported the first death from the "Delta Plus" variant. (Representational)
Maharashtra on Friday reported the first death from the "Delta Plus" variant of COVID-19, with an elderly woman dying in Ratnagiri civil hospital, a senior official said.
The woman hails from Sangameswar and was admitted to the hospital, over 330 kilometres from Mumbai, a few days ago, Ratnagiri district official Sanjay Shinde told PTI.
He said the woman's death was being audited to see if she suffered from comorbidities.
Mr Shinde said district officials have been told to increase awareness as well as sensitaize people about appropriate COVID-19 behavior.
Forty-eight coronavirus cases of "Delta Plus" variant have been detected from 45,000 samples sequenced so far in the country, with Maharashtra reporting the highest number of such cases at 20, the Centre said on Friday.
As per a government release, the characteristics of the Delta Plus variant include increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells as well as potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.