Delta variant of Covid-19 now dominant in most European countries, says ECDC

Delta variant will be the globally dominant strain over the coming months, experts warned, and said it will continue to spread, displacing the circulation of other variants unless a new more competitive virus emerges.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organisation’s (WHO) regional office for Europe warned on Monday that the Delta variant of Covid-19 is now dominant in the region. The two bodies also recommended measures like faster rollout of Covid-19 vaccination to all eligible groups, implementation of public health measures and increased access to testing.

"Between June 28 and July 11, 2021 the Delta variant was dominant in the majority (19 countries) of the 28 countries that reported sufficiently complete genetic sequencing information,” the joint statement by the ECDC and the WHO’s Europe office read. (AP)

“Surveillance data reported to WHO/Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that between June 28 and July 11, 2021 the Delta variant was dominant in the majority (19 countries) of the 28 countries that reported sufficiently complete genetic sequencing information,” the joint statement by the ECDC and the WHO’s Europe office read.

Warning against the rising number of infections across Europe since the past four weeks, the ECDC said a five-fold increase in the infections was observed among the people in the age group of 15 to 24 over the past month. It also urged the priority groups including older people and those with chronic diseases, as well as healthcare workers to receive their full dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to protect themselves from severe illness.

“Based on current trends the Delta variant will be the globally dominant strain over the coming months and has already been identified in almost all European countries. It will continue to spread, displacing the circulation of other variants unless a new more competitive virus emerges,” the statement further said.

In their statement, the ECDC and WHO also mentioned the increased risk of infections due to travelling. It directed the people to think about the need and assess the risks before travel and also issued directives for safe commuting.

The Delta variant or the B.1.617.2 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in India and according to the WHO, is more transmissive than the Alpha variant first detected in the United Kingdom. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said that the Delta variant has been reported in 96 countries as of July 5, 2021. The WHO termed the Delta variant as a variant of concern earlier on May 11 this year.