The Delta plus variant, a new mutant version of the Delta strain first detected in India, has been found in 22 cases in Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh and is a "variant of concern", the government said in a warning to these states on Tuesday evening. At a time India is emerging from the deadly second wave of Covid and cases have dropped, Delta Plus cases have been found in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri and Jalgaon; in Palakkad and Pathanamthitta in Kerala; and in Bhopal and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, the government said in its advisory.