WHO sounds alarm as Delta variant sparks fresh outbreaks in China

WHO sounds alarm as Delta variant sparks fresh outbreaks across three prefectures in China.

China’s most serious surge of coronavirus infections in months spread to a further two more areas Saturday, July 31,- the province of Fujian and the sprawling megacity of Chongqing are now areas of concern.

More than 200 cases have so far been linked to a Delta cluster in Nanjing city where nine cleaners at an international airport tested positive, with the outbreak spanning Beijing, Chongqing and five provinces as of Saturday.

The nation where the disease first emerged has rushed to prevent the highly transmissible strain from taking root by putting more than one million people under lockdown and reinstituting mass testing campaigns.

Worldwide, coronavirus infections are once again on the upswing, with the World Health Organization announcing an 80 per cent average increase over the past four weeks in five of the health agency’s six regions, a jump largely fuelled by the Delta (formally known as the Indian) variant.

The war against COVID-19 has changed because of the highly contagious Delta variant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said, proposing a clearer message, mandatory vaccines for health workers and a return to universal masking.

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An internal CDC (Centre for Disease Control) document said the variant, first detected in India and now dominant across the globe, is as contagious as chickenpox and far more contagious than the common cold or flu. It can be passed on even by vaccinated people and may cause more serious disease than earlier coronavirus strains.

The document, entitled “Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness”, said the variant required a new approach to help the public understand the danger – including making clear that unvaccinated people were more than 10 times more likely than those who are vaccinated to become seriously ill or die.

“Acknowledge the war has changed,” it said. “Improve communications around individual risk among vaccinated.”

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