Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today expressed his concern on Covid-19 variant Delta Plus AY.4.2, which after killing thousands of people in several countries, has now been detected in India. The Chief Minister asked the Central government to issue the standard operating procedure (SOP) for its prevention.

Taking to official Titter handle, he wrote in Hindi which reads:  "Several cases of Delta Plus AY.4.2, a new variant of the coronavirus that has killed 1000s of people in many countries including Russia, Britain, have also come to India. It spreads even faster than the delta variant. The Central should prepare and issue SOPs for its prevention based on the experience of other countries in time." He further said, "Initially, there were only a few cases of the delta variant but it did not take time to spread across the country. Not to have a similar experience like the Delta variant, complete preparation is necessary."

AY.4.2, dubbed "Delta Plus" and now with the nomenclature “VUI-21OCT-01” by the UK Health Security Agency, has been under closer scrutiny of late after evidence indicated that it spread more quickly than the dominant Delta variant.

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