A study that was done in Tamil Nadu has shockingly revealed the reason behind the surge in COVID-19 infection in the state. The revelation has come when the state has been recording a decline in the cases after battling the horrendous second wave of the pandemic and the findings have shown that a variant of COVID could have played a major role in devastating the state.

According to reports, a recent study on the genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 was released by the Tamil Nadu government's Health Department and it has picturized that the widespread infection in the state may have been caused due to the Delta variant of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study had shown that out of the 554 samples tested from December 2020 to May 2021, 386 samples were found to contain the Delta variant, that was discovered in India. 

While the Delta Variant had contracted 70% of all samples, the Alpha variant, which was first discovered in the United Kingdom in January this year, showed an 8.5% spread. The results of the study were released by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Chennai. The study had further highlighted that the Delta variant was largely seen in community and family clusters.

Recently, the World Health Organization has categorized the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, as a Variant of Concern (VOC). The Delta variant was mostly reported among adults above 12 years of age compared to children below 12. Apart from India, the Delta variant has become a cause of fret in the United Kingdom, the United States, and several countries. 

Speaking to IANS, Suchitra Menon, a virologist, said, "The World Health Organization has categorized the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as more transferable than the parent virus and now the study of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Department has found that this variant has caused much of a concern in the state. We should not let our guard down as the possibility of a third wave looms large on the horizon." 

"Vaccination of the maximum population, wearing masks, safe distancing, and hand sanitization should continue to prevent the COVID-19 attack", Menon added. It must be noted that Genome Sequencing is the process of determining the DNA sequence of an organism, that helps experts study mutations and the spread of the epidemics like COVID-19. The study had drawn major attention as the Delta variant has become a global concern with India steering towards witnessing the third wave. 

The state health department has on Sunday said that about 12% of people who were vaccinated with both doses had got tested positive for the pandemic. According to the health department, Tamil Nadu has reported 7,817 fresh COVID-19 cases, 17,043 discharges, and 182 deaths on Sunday. Overall, the state had reported 24,22,497 cases so far as of Sunday of which 69,372 are active, 23,21,928 have been discharged, and 31,197 people had succumbed to the pandemic.