Delta variant soon to be dominant COVID-19 strain, says WHO chief

The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that the highly infectious strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus "delta" will soon become the dominant strain globally, the organization's Geneva headquarters said, Report informs, citing TASS.

Delta is highly contagious, and WHO expects it to become the dominant strain of coronavirus circulating globally, the organization said.

The delta strain has been identified in 111 countries and territories, and the case number has increased by seven since July 6, according to the WHO epidemiological bulletin released today. It is now circulating in India, where it was first discovered in October 2020, and in Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Thailand, Israel, Brazil, and the United States, among others.

At the same time, the organization has no data on the presence of this strain in Iceland, Egypt, Montenegro, Cuba, and a number of other states and territories. There are now 85 of them.

Answering what measures should be taken to prevent the penetration of the delta strain into the country, the World Health Organization explained that all viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease, change over time. New variants of this virus are expected to appear. However, the widespread transmission of COVID-19 gives the virus a better chance of changing. In this regard, the organization believes that reducing transmission [of infection] through proven methods and disease control measures is critical in reducing the potential for mutation.

Moreover, it is also necessary to avoid the penetration of the virus into animal populations.