The Delta variant appears 60 percent more infectious than the Alfa variant.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Public Health England (PHE) revealed that the Covid-19 Delta variant which now dominates in the UK has an easily contagious nature. The variant also known as B.1.617.2 appears 60 percent more infectious than the Alpha variant.
The Alfa variant is a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 that had dominated the UK last fall. The Alfa variant is also known as B.1.1.1.7.
The increase in Covid-19 cases caused by varian Delta appears to double in 4.5-11.5 days. According to the PHE report, Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant increased from 29,892 cases to 42,323 cases since June 2.
“With the number of cases of the Delta variant rising across the country, vaccination is our best defense,” he said Chief Executive UK Health Security Agency Jenny Harris, as reported by WebMD.
According to the PHE report, not being vaccinated can increase the chances of being hospitalized and dying from Covid-19. Of the 42 Covid-19 patients who had the Delta variant and died, 23 of them had not been vaccinated, one patient had just received one dose of the vaccine, and 12 others had received two doses of the vaccine more than two weeks earlier.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) European Regional Director Hans Henri Kluge warned that the Delta variant could spread to other continents if Britain could not control its spread. Kluge said the Delta variant is variant of concern which appear to have a higher ability to infect and evade the immune system.
The Delta variant is said to be the mastermind behind the increasing number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India at this time. The Delta variant was first identified in India.
The Delta variant has also been found in the United States today. It is estimated that this variant causes about 6 percent of Covid-19 cases in the United States.
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