Spread of COVID-19’s Delta variant will substantially up cases, put pressure on healthcare: WHO

Geneva, Jul 14 : In its COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released on Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said that an overall rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant is reported across all WHO regions.

As of July 13, at least 111 countries, territories and areas have reported detection of the Delta variant, and this is expected to continue to increase, becoming the dominant variant globally in the coming months.

“The increased transmissibility associated with the Delta variant is likely to result in substantial increases in case incidence and greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in contexts of low vaccine coverage,” it said.

Globally, cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 178 countries, territories or areas, while 123 countries reported cases of the Beta variant, 75 countries reported cases of the Gamma variant.

UNI