THE highly infectious delta coronavirus variant is continuing to spread around the world, causing rising case numbers even in countries with high vaccination rates. Some countries that kept previous variants under control are struggling to contain delta, such as Thailand and Vietnam.
Some nations are imposing fresh restrictions to curb delta鈥檚 spread, including and Indonesia. But others are relaxing restrictions. Despite soaring case numbers, England is set to end almost all restrictions on 19 July. The health secretary, Sajid Javid, warned on 5 July that case numbers could reach 100,000 per day as a result, but wouldn鈥檛 say how many deaths the government expected.
The decision to end almost all restrictions at once 鈥� including the legal requirement to wear face coverings on public transport 鈥� has been criticised. It is a 鈥渉uge gamble鈥�, , at the University of Southampton, UK, as many young people will be infected and the long-term consequences of that remain unknown.
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A poll by showed that 71 per cent of people thought masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport, with just 21 per cent opposed.
Delta has now been detected in 96 countries, according to Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization. Increased social mixing and travel, and the relaxation of restrictions in many countries, are contributing to its spread, on 5 July. 鈥淭he world remains largely susceptible to infection.鈥�
Delta spreads more readily than other variants. In Sydney, one person after just walking past another. With older variants, local health officials said, it was thought infection could happen only with sustained contact for around 15 minutes.
In the Netherlands, meanwhile, at least 165 of the 600 or so people who went to a night club on 26 June , despite everyone having to show evidence of a negative test or full vaccination before entering. It isn鈥檛 clear how many were infected at the night club or who may have been infected on arrival.
This higher transmissibility is why delta is causing surges in cases in many places. Indonesia is battling its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began. More than on 3 and 4 July after it ran out of oxygen.
Vaccines are also less effective against delta infections. In Israel, health ministry data suggests that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is just at preventing symptomatic illness after two doses, compared with 94 per cent against older variants. However, may mean this figure isn鈥檛 accurate.
According to a , Pfizer/BioNTech is 96 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation due to delta, with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine 92 per cent effective. That is one of the reasons why hospitalisations in England aren鈥檛 increasing as rapidly as they did during previous covid-19 waves, which played a big part in the government鈥檚 decision to end restrictions.
One of the risks of easing restrictions and allowing cases to increase is that it could lead to the evolution of even more dangerous variants. The more the virus replicates, the more chances there are for it to change. In countries where many people have been vaccinated, there will be strong selection for any variants that can evade vaccine immunity.
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