COVID-19 variant Delta Plus spreads in Lao capital

VIENTIANE, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Lao Ministry of Health said the COVID-19 variant that was spreading through the capital Vientiane is the Delta Plus variant.

Director General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, told a press conference here on Monday that 52 new imported cases and 162 locally transmitted cases were recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 19,399 cases.

He said community cases in Vientiane continued to increase, with the Delta Plus variant confirmed among those who tested positive for the virus.

The Delta Plus variant, a mutant version of the Delta strain, is highly transmissible.

The city, after seeing soaring COVID-19 cases at garment factories, was placed into full lockdown from Sunday afternoon until Sept. 30.

As of Monday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Laos has reached 19,399 with 16 deaths. A total of 15,128 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

The country reported its first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 24 last year.