CHANDIGARH: Punjab on Saturday registered 308 fresh Covid cases, which took the tally to 5,94,586, while 15 more fatalities pushed the toll to 15,979 in the state, according to a medical bulletin.
The number of active cases has dropped to 4,376, it said.
Deaths were reported from several districts including Amritsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur.
Bathinda reported 37 new cases, followed by 32 in Ludhiana and 24 in Hoshiarpur, according to the bulletin.
The state's positivity rate stands at 0.63 per cent.
With 740 recoveries, the number of cured persons has reached 5,74,231 in Punjab, according to the bulletin.
There are 120 critical patients who are on ventilator support, 373 other critical patients and 1,628 are on oxygen support, it said.
The bulletin said that 1,07,12,980 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported 20 fresh cases, which took the tally to 61,604, according to the medical bulletin.
With no death, the toll stood at 807 in the Union Territory, which is the joint capital for Punjab and Haryana.
The number of active cases has dropped to 220, according to the bulletin.
With 44 patients being discharged after they recovered from the infection, the number of cured persons has reached 60,577, it said.
In total, 5,61,064 samples have been taken for testing so far and of them, 4,98,203 have tested negative while reports of 15 samples are awaited, the bulletin said.
The first case of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus was detected in Chandigarh on Saturday, according to an official statement.
A total of 50 samples were sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) lab for whole genome sequencing (WGS).
"Out of the results received, variant of concern (VOC) has been detected in 35 samples. One Alpha variant (B.1.1.1.7), 33 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) and one Delta Plus variant (AY.1) have been reported in the samples sent for WGS," the statement said.
The sample of a 35-year-old resident, who tested positive for COVID-19 on May 22, has been detected with Delta Plus variant (AY.1), it said.
Samples of four high-risk family contacts, who tested positive for the infection in May, have been sent to the NCDC on Saturday.
Also, 29 samples for the period of June have been sent to the NCDC and the results are awaited, the statement said.
The Delta Plus variant has increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.