'Virus evolving into more transmissible variants' : We are in the early stages of third wave now, says WHO chief

'Delta variant is in more than 111 countries and will soon be the dominant Covid-19 strain'

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.: File picture

TT Bureau   |   United Nations   |  15.07.21 :  World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday warned nations that they have entered the early stages of the third wave of Covid-19.

The health expert sounded alarms over the fresh rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths, which were declining as a result of increasing vaccination rates in Europe and North America in the recent months, UN News said.

“Unfortunately…we are now in the early stages of a third wave”, he was quoted as saying by UN News.

According to the media wing of the United Nations, last week marked the fourth consecutive week of rising cases of Covid-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHO’s six regions. Deaths are also rising again, after 10 weeks of steady decline, it said.

Ghebreyesus said that the virus was evolving continuously and into more transmissible variants.

“The Delta variant is now in more than 111 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant Covid-19 strain circulating worldwide if it isn’t already,” he said.

The WHO chief also noted that the cases are being "fuelled by increased social mobility and the inconsistent use of proven public health and social measures", and called out the "shocking disparity" in vaccine distribution.

Ghebreyusus, however, reiterated that vaccines alone will not stop the pandemic, and called upon countries to persist with a “tailored and consistent approach.”

“So many countries around the world have shown that this virus can be stopped and contained with public and social measures,” he said. 

In its Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released on Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said that an overall rise in Covid-19 cases due to the Delta variant is reported across all WHO regions.

The increased transmissibility associated with the Delta variant is likely to result in substantial increases in case incidence and greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in contexts of low vaccine coverage, it said.

Globally, cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 178 countries, territories or areas, while 123 countries reported cases of the Beta variant, 75 countries reported cases of the Gamma variant.

The update said that the Delta variant has shown higher transmissibility than other Variants of Concerns (VOCs) identified to date.

The increased transmissibility means that it is likely to become the dominant variant globally over the coming months, the update said.

It noted that the highest number of new cases were reported from Brazil (333,030 new cases; 9 per cent decrease), India (291,789 new cases; 7 per cent decrease), Indonesia (243,119 new cases; 44 per cent increase), the United Kingdom (210,277 new cases; 30 per cent increase) and Colombia (174,320 new cases; 15 per cent decrease).