Delta sparks fears and fresh curbs
Highly transmissible variant of Covid-19 forces governments around the world to bring back measures to avoid further crisis.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the US and now accounts for a fifth of recent Covid-19 cases, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said, as the variant continues to spread fear and trigger fresh curbs around the world.
Rochelle Walensky, CDC head, said on Wednesday the rapid growth in the Delta variant is being seen after it had accounted for just 3% of Covid-19 cases analysed several weeks ago.
The news in Europe was grim as well, with the highly transmissible variant showing the potential to account for 90% of new Covid-19 cases in the EU in the coming months, the bloc’s disease control agency said. “It is likely the Delta variant will circulate extensively during the summer, particularly among younger individuals not targeted for vaccination,” Andrea Ammon, director of the European CDC said, adding that “by the end of August, it will represent 90%” of new cases in the EU.
In Russia, authorities warned of an “explosive” spread of the Delta variant amid rapidly rising infections and deaths. “The situation has become explosive,” said Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Fears over the Delta variant also forced authorities in Sydney to bring back curbs, while Wellington upgraded its alert level.
In England, meanwhile, officials have tracked 41 cases of the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19, an even more transmissible strain.
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