Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts on Tuesday reported the first confirmed cases of the Delta variant of novel coronavirus.

Five Covid-19 positive samples, sent for genome sequencing earlier this month to Kalyani's National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, were found to be of the Delta variant.

Two samples tested positive for the UK strain of Covid-19 from Darjeeling and Kalimpong, said health department sources. Experts said that treatment of those infected by the Delta variant was the same but contamination rate was higher.

It has been declared as a Variant of Concern (VOC) by the World Health Organisation.