Raipur, 24 Jun (IANS): Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has directed officials to take utmost precautions and preventive measures to keep a close watch on the movement at inter-state borders to check the spread of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus which has been found in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Samples were sent from AIIMS Raipur and Raipur Medical College's Virology Lab to Bhubaneswar AIIMS and other cities for the advanced study to detect Delta Plus variant in the new cases of coronavirus being found in the state. So far, the Delta Plus variant has not been found in any of the samples collected in Chhattisgarh.

Baghel has also appealed to citizens in the state to take utmost caution for their own safety and safety of others. Baghel has requested people to strictly follow the Covid appropriate behaviour i.e. use of masks, hand-hygiene and social and physical distancing.

As many as 40 cases of Delta Plus Covid variant have been detected in India -- the strain which the government has tagged as a "Variant of Concern".

A total of 21 cases of the new strain have been found in Maharashtra, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, two in Karnataka and one each in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu, said sources.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Tuesday informed that the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 was found in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri and Jalgaon; Kerala's Palakkad and Pathanamthitta; and Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal and Shivpuri.