Amid concerns over the new Delta plus variant of COVID-19, Odisha's first patient, who was detected with the new mutant version, on 27 June said it took him a little over three weeks to defeat the virus.

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The 60-year-old man, who hails from Barkote block of Deogarh district, also said that he strictly followed all advice given by doctors as he underwent home isolation, and that has helped him recover quickly. "I experienced body ache and flu-like symptoms on April 23 and tested positive for the delta variant of the virus on April 26. I had taken the first dose of the Covishield vaccine on March 30. It took me around 20-25 days to defeat the virus. Thankfully, I didn't have to visit the hospital," he told a local television channel. Deogarh Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) M K Upadhaya noted that as many as 81 people were diagnosed with the disease between April 10 and April 30 in the village, where the 60-year-old man resided.

The sexagenarian, however, is so far the only one detected with the mutated strain, which has been identified as a 'variant of concern' by the Union government, the CDMO said, adding that he was glad that the patient has now recovered. A member of an epidemiology team that visited the village on Saturday said, "Only four of the 81 patients were hospitalised and the rest recovered at home. No death was reported from the village during this period". Senior health officials claimed that the first dose of Covishield might have helped the sexagenarian put up a stronger fight against the Delta plus variant, which, experts said, bind easily to lungs.