Tag Archives: Delta variant

The simultaneous circulation of the Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus is creating a “tsunami of cases”, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing on Wednesday. “Delta and Omicron are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalization …

Research by South African scientists suggests that Omicron could displace the Delta variant of the coronavirus because infection with the new variant boosts immunity to the older one. The study only covered a small group of people and has not been peer-reviewed, but it found that people who were infected …

The World Health Organization does not yet have enough data on the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus to say if it is more transmissible than the Delta variant, an official said on Wednesday, almost a month after South Africa first raised the alarm about its emergence. “We have not …

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. “There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly …

The risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta, a study showed, as cases soar across Europe and threaten year-end festivities. The results of the study by Imperial College London were based on …

The United States on Sunday was approaching 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. The milestone means the U.S. death toll from this one virus now …

Scientists are sounding the alarm, as what could be the most highly-evolved strain of the coronavirus has been discovered in patients in different parts of the world. Its resistance to vaccines adds to the concerns. The latest known variant of Covid-19 has significant changes in its spikes, which could make …

Worldwide cases due to COVID-19 were approaching 250 million on Sunday as the surge from the Delta variant eases and more normal trade and tourism resume, although some countries in eastern Europe are experiencing record outbreaks. Over the last three months, the daily average number of cases has fallen by …

The Russian capital brought in its strictest lockdown measures since June 2020 on Thursday as hospitals confront a rising wave of coronavirus cases that has sent one-day pandemic deaths to record highs. The partial lockdown, in which only essential shops like pharmacies and supermarkets are allowed to remain open, while …

New Zealand recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday as a Delta-variant outbreak that dashed the nation’s “Covid Zero” hopes showed no signs of easing. Health authorities announced 94 new virus cases, exceeding the previous daily record of 89 set in …

Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday. By Friday, when some curbs will be lifted, the Australian city of 5 million people will have been under six lockdowns …

Australia’s delta outbreak appears to have levelled off, with more than half the country in extended lockdowns and vaccination rates starting to approach national targets, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday. Hunt said 80 percent of Australians will have had their first COVID-19 jabs this week, while the overall …

Compared to coronavirus cases earlier in the pandemic, infections with the Delta variant lead to worse outcomes for unvaccinated pregnant women, new data suggest. Doctors studied 1,515 pregnant women with COVID-19 who received care from a large public health system in Dallas from May 2020 through Sept. 4, 2021. Overall, …

Fully vaccinated people were 11 times less likely to die of COVID-19 and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized since highly contagious Delta became the most common variant, US health authorities said Friday. The data came from one of three new papers published by the Centers for Disease Control …

US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order requiring all federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to multiple reports. The order is one of several measures Biden is expected to announce. Biden signed the order on Thursday, hours before he was due to give a …

Indian authorities are restricting major religious festivals that start this week and attract huge crowds, warning that a new COVID-19 wave had already begun in the financial capital Mumbai. State governments across the country of 1.3 billion people, which saw a devastating coronavirus surge in April-May, are clamping down on …

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday 70 percent of adults in the European Union were now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, reaching an end-of-summer target the bloc set for itself in January. “Today we reached an important milestone in our vaccination campaign. Seventy percent of adults in the …

Scientists have raised concern regarding a new potential COVID-19 variant of interest in South Africa due to its “concerning constellations of mutations.” The new variant, dubbed C.1.2, was first identified in May 2021 and has since spread across South Africa and into seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and …

Japan is looking into the possibility of mixing shots of AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine with those developed by other drugmakers in a bid to speed up its vaccine rollout, the minister in charge of vaccinations said on Sunday. Japan, which has previously relied on the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna …

Numbers show a grim picture emerging, with 25,000 people currently in intensive care and daily deaths reaching 364. As the Delta variant of the coronavirus races across the United States, the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 has risen to 100,000, the highest since January when the pandemic peaked in …