The COVID-19 delta infections has now spread around the world. The delta strain was first discovered in India. However, now it is prompting further waves of infections in countries like Britain.
Moreover, there are increasing signs that mainland Europe is facing a sharp increase in infections too.
The European Union is certainly worried about the spread of the highly infectious delta variant. The surveys show that it is about 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. Delta causes more hospitalizations and slightly reduces the efficacy of vaccines.
Several European countries have imposed further restrictions on visitors from the U.K. However, experts think it will take off in mainland Europe sooner or later — and there are strong signals it already has.
On June 29, French Health Minister Olivier Veran announced that the delta strain now represents some 20% of coronavirus infections in France. Remarkably, experts estimated 9-10% of cases last week.
Germany’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, announced this week that the delta strain accounted for about 36% of the cases in the week of June 15 – 20, up 15% from the week before. Moreover, Lothar Wieler, president of the RKI, told officials the variant now already represents over 50% of registered cases in Germany.
The delta plus variant has been discovered in Europe too
Furthermore, Italy’s national health institute announced Friday that cases attributed to Covid variants delta and kappa have risen in Italy in the past month. Notably, they accounted for approximately 17% of total coronavirus cases.
Spain and Portugal have also reported a surge in delta variant cases, as have Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey. In addition, the delta plus variant — a mutation of the delta mutation — has been discovered in Europe too.
Germany and France are among the countries that have introduced quarantine restrictions on British travelers. Meanwhile, Berlin has gone one step further, calling on the European Union to take a unified approach when it comes to requiring British travelers who come to the bloc to quarantine.
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