Delta Variant Soon To Be Dominant Strain Of Covid-19 Worldwide, Warns WHO

WHO has cautioned that communities with inadequate vaccination rates will be the hardest hit by the Delta variant's rapid expansion. 

(Representative Image/Getty)

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated on Tuesday that the higher transmissibility linked with the Delta version of Covid-19 is expected to result in a significant upsurge in cases worldwide, putting additional strain on healthcare systems. 

It has cautioned that communities with inadequate vaccination rates will be the hardest hit by the Delta variant's rapid expansion. 

The WHO observed an overall increase in Covid cases related to the Delta variant across countries in its weekly Covid-19 update. At least 111 countries, territories, and places had verified outbreaks of the Delta strain as of July 13. This figure is projected to climb in the next months, and Delta is anticipated to be the most dominant form worldwide. 

"The increased transmissibility means that it is likely to become the dominant variant globally over the coming months," the WHO said in its weekly Covid-19 update. 

The organisation stated that with the advent of more transmissible variations, as well as the relaxation of "public health and social measures", rapid increases in case numbers, hospitalizations, and fatalities in many countries have been observed.  

The global surge in Covid cases for the week of July 5-11 was approximately three million, up 10% from the last week. Although the number of weekly Covid deaths has been consistently declining for nine weeks, it increased by 3% this week. Between July 5 and July 11, there were over 55,000 deaths reported. 

This week, the number of daily cases increased as well, with the world recording an average of 4,00,000 cases each day, up from 3,70,000 the week before. 

The overall number of cases documented worldwide has already topped 186 million, and the Covid death toll has surpassed four million. 

Despite 24.7 percent of the world’s population to have already received atleast one dose of vaccine already, the huge inequalities in vaccine distribution are the obstacles governments across the world are still dealing with.