Updated on July 27, 2021 at 5:28 pm NBC Universal, Inc. As the number of people in the Bay Area diagnosed with the delta variant of COVID-19 increases, there is a new threat: delta plus variants. Cases have already been confirmed in the South Bay. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department is now sequencing every COVID-19 case from every hospital in the county, meaning it's tracking down which variant of COVID-19 each case is. So far, officials have detected 16 cases of mutated delta variants known as delta plus. "I think it’s a safe bet to assume that it is also more contagious, just like the delta variant is," Dr. George Han with the county health department said.