Rio de Janeiro state registers new Delta variant cases

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro State Health Secretariat on Saturday, July 17, reported 63 more cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, from a total of 380 samples processed. There are 74 cases in 12 municipalities in the state.

The latest municipalities with identified cases of the Delta variant are Duque de Caxias, Itaboraí, Itaguaí, Japeri, Maricá, Mesquita, Niterói, Nova Iguaçu, and Queimados. Cases had been formerly detected in Seropédica, São João de Meriti, and Rio de Janeiro.

Municipal secretariats have been notified and will conduct an epidemiological investigation, with support from the Health Secretariat.

Monitoring program

“These confirmations were possible thanks to the latest results of the Corona-Ômica-RJ project, one of the largest in the country, which analyzes about 800 samples from all across the state each month,” the portfolio said.

In this last round of examinations, the Delta variant represented 16.57% of the total of 380 samples processed. The final report on the latest survey is being finalized and will soon be available on the routine publication link.

According to the Health Secretariat, recent monitoring data show the presence of the Delta variant (B1.617.2), but the P.1 (Gamma/Brazil) lineage is still the most frequent in the state. Low frequency of the VOC B.1.1.7 (Alpha/UK) has been recorded, in addition to a decline of the P.2 since November last year.

Rio city

Of the 74 cases of Delta variant, 23 were recorded in the city of Rio de Janeiro. On Saturday, Rio de Janeiro Municipal Health Secretary Daniel Soranz reported that 15 more cases of the Delta variant had been confirmed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, raising the total to 23.

The Delta variant was first identified in India and has been labeled the fourth variant of concern by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), along with the Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The first three were sequenced in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil.

The variants of concern are given special attention from health authorities because of their greater potential for transmission.

“Irrespective of the virus strain or lineage, prevention measures and the methods to diagnose and treat Covid-19 remain the same. Therefore, there is no change in the health measures currently adopted, such as mask and hand sanitizer use, hand washing, and social distancing. Furthermore, it is important that municipalities continue to advance the vaccination process against Covid-19 and that the population returns to be administered the second dose. Studies show that all vaccines available in Brazil are effective against the variants identified so far,” the state health department said.