No cases of Delta Plus variant detected in Singapore: Kenneth Mak
The Covid-19 task force will continue to keep a look out and monitor the Covid-19 situation here.
PHOTO: The Straits Times
PUBLISHED ONJune 24, 2021 9:40 AMByCheryl Tan
SINGAPORE - The latest coronavirus variant to raise concern, Delta Plus, has not been detected in Singapore, said the Health Ministry's Director of Medical Services Kenneth Mak on Thursday(June 24)
He said the Covid-19 task force will continue to keep a look out and monitor the Covid-19 situation here.
The Delta Plus is the Delta variant of the coronavirus with an additional mutation in a particular spike protein K417N.
The first case was detected in India in April, and cases have since been found in other countries including the United States, Britain, Japan, Portugal and Nepal, among others.
Delta Plus has been labelled as a variant of concern by the Indian government after evidence suggested that it is more transmissible, with the virus binding more strongly to lung cells and potentially resistant to treatment and vaccines as well as immunity from previous Covid-19 infection.
Speaking at a press conference by the mutli-ministry task force on Covid-19, Associate Professor Mak said there have been two versions of the Delta Plus - the AY1 version that has been reportedly mainly in Europe, and the AY2 version that has been reported in various places including the United States.
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"We still be conducting phylogenetic studies on this variant to determine if it is of concern or particular interest," he added in response to a question raised by The Straits Times on whether the variant has been spotted in Singapore.
The WHO characterises the Sars-CoV-2 variant, which causes Covid-19 as a variant of interest if it has been identified to cause community transmission or multiple cases, or has been detected in multiple countries.
A variant of concern is one that shows evidence of higher transmissibility and virulence, leading to more severe disease that requires hospitalisation and causes deaths.
ALSO READ: What is the 'Delta Plus' variant and where has it been found?
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.