Delta variant likely to become dominant COVID strain globally: WHO

Afghanistan, Nigeria and Ecuador are among the 15 countries that reported their first cases of the highly infectious variant in the past week

The Delta COVID-19 variant has so far been identified in 111 countries, territories or areas, and is on the way to becoming the dominant strain of the virus worldwide, causing an increase in new infections and deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Afghanistan, Nigeria and Ecuador are among the 15 countries that reported their first cases of the highly infectious variant in the past week, the WHO said in a statement issued yesterday.

It warned that the Delta strain is likely to spread to more countries and that it is likely to become the dominant form of COVID-19 in the coming months.

According to WHO figures, COVID-19 cases have jumped in the past week worldwide.

The statement was released two days after the WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of the “devastating outbreaks” caused by the Delta variant, saying that the new strain of the virus was infecting people “at a scorching pace.”