International
Delta COVID-19 variant reported in 16 countries – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday the Delta variant of COVID-19 has spread to 16 countries across the world.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who disclosed this to journalists in Brazzaville, Congo, said the variant is present in three of the five nations reporting the highest COVID-19 caseloads.
She said the variant is the most contagious yet – up to 60 percent more transmissible than other variants.
Along with Alpha and Beta, Delta is fuelling an aggressive third wave across Africa, with case numbers climbing faster than all earlier peaks.
Moeti said: “The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave are like nothing we have seen before. The rampant spread of more contagious variants pushes the threat to Africa up to a whole new level.
READ ALSO: No COVID-19 Delta Variant in Nigeria yet —NCDC
“More transmission means more serious illness and more deaths, so everyone must act now and boost prevention measures to stop an emergency becoming a tragedy.”
WHO experts warned that numbers from the variant had increased for six consecutive weeks, up by 25 percent last week to reach 202,000 positive cases.
According to the United Nations health agency, deaths also rose by 15 percent across 38 African countries, to nearly 3,000.
The Delta variant, initially identified in India, is now dominant in South Africa, which accounted for more than half of Africa´s cases last week.
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