Reports show Delta variant continues to threaten Europe
The Delta variant of the corona virus, which has ravaged Britain, has become dominant in Portugal. For the virus, which has also emerged in Germany, France and Spain, European health officials have warned that more measures must be taken.
While the new species, which first appeared in India, has yet to account for only a fraction of the total cases of corona virus in Europe, the new variant appeared to be spreading rapidly, according to the Financial Times’s virus tracking database. According to the data, the Delta variant accounts for 96 percent of covid-19 infections in Portugal, more than 20 percent in Italy and about 16 percent in Belgium.
The rise in cases of the corona virus from the Delta variant has also raised concerns that this development could halt the progress EU has made in the past two months by keeping new case numbers and deaths at low levels.
CALL FOR VACCINE AND MASK
French virologist Bruno Lina said: “If we continue vaccination quickly and make non-drug interventions, such as the use of masks in confined spaces, we can still suppress the circulation of the virus this summer. This variant will replace the others; we have to keep that in mind. But this does not mean that there will be a new wave of outbreaks,” he said.
CONCERNED PARTIES TO BENEFIT FROM ENGLAND’S EXPERIENCE
Scientists across the continent are studying the UK, where the Delta variant accounts for around 98 per cent of all new infections, in order to learn about what might happen next and what measures might need to be taken.
After official data showed that the Delta variant increased the risk of hospitalization by 2.2 times compared to the Alpha variant, the UK government this week decided to delay the removal of the remaining corona virus restrictions by a month.
