The dangerous coronavirus pandemic is creating a lot of fear amongst the people. New COVID-19 variants are coming up and scientists are working hard to know the new mutations. Scientists have expanded the Delta family from four to 13 variants. Some of the Delta variants are very dangerous and the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) has given birth to several sub-lineages called ‘Delta Plus' variants. One of these sub-lineages, AY.12, has all the characteristic Delta mutations. The first case of the AY.12 variant of coronavirus was reported in the Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand reported on August 31st. The case of the variant was reported in Kotdwar in Pauri Garhwal. The Indian Sars-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog) has classified AY.12 as a sub-lineage of the Delta variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus. According to Insacog, both Delta and AY.12 appear to be the same at a molecular level despite the functional impact of changes between the two not being known.

So far, 178 AY.12 cases have been registered in 15 states and Union Territories, including 188 in Andhra Pradesh and 15 in Telangana. The Union Health Ministry has advised all states to follow strict COVID-19 protocol. The AY.12 cases have been reported when samples collected from different states were randomly tested.

Here is the list of states with Delta Plus Variant Cases:

Telangana-52, Maharashtra-47, Goa-45, Jammu and Kashmir-41, Uttarakhand-27, AP-24, Punjab-20, Bihar-19, Himachal Pradesh-19, Chandigarh-18, Madhya Pradesh-18, Delhi-10, Rajasthan - 9, Manipur-8, Assam-5, Tamil Nadu-4, Karnataka-4, Meghalaya-3, Uttar Pradesh-2, West Bengal-2, Gujarat-2, Haryana-2, Nagaland-1, Odisha-1.

AY.12 Cases:
Goa-34, Maharashtra-20, Andhra Pradesh-18, Uttarakhand-18, Jammu and Kashmir-16, Telangana-15, Chandigarh-10, Punjab-8, Rajasthan-8, Himachal Pradesh-8, Bihar-6, Delhi-6, Madhya Pradesh-5, Manipur-3, Meghalaya-3