Rio de Janeiro confirmed the first deaths from the delta variant of the coronavirus

Rio de Janeiro health authorities have confirmed the first deaths from the delta variant of the coronavirus in the Brazilian metropolis and they have warned that this highly contagious strain is about to cause another wave of cases.

Deaths come at a critical time because The city announced on Friday the temporary suspension of the application of the first dose of the vaccine due to lack of supplies, depending on the channel or balloon. The schedule stopped when the vaccination was due to start for the 25-year-old. There are still more than 486,000 residents of the city of Rio de Janeiro aged between 30 and 39 without having received the first dose.

“Hopefully the variant ends up becoming the dominant one in the city”, explained the health secretary of the city, Daniel Soranz. As a result, the city authorities have decided to extend the restrictions in force, including the compulsory wearing of a mask, until August 9.

The deaths were linked to the strain for the first time on Thursday. All the deceased have been identified outside the city and they did not have the complete immunization schedule.

In total, around 19.1 million people have tested positive in Brazil since the start of the pandemic. Among them, some 534,000 died.

Delta variant is said to be 137% deadlier and is on its way to becoming the most dominant in the world

While the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Friday warned that theThe Delta variant of COVID-19 is already dominant in Europe and is growing rapidly in this territory, the World Health Organization (WHO) cited this week two new studies that warn against greatest danger of the mutation in India.

This is work carried out by Chinese and Canadian researchers, which has not yet been published in a specialized journal.

According to the Canadian study, the health risks of contracting COVID-19 with the Delta variant are significantly higher than with the first types of coronavirus: The chances of hospitalization increase by approximately 120%, and the chances of needing intensive care are approximately 287%. The risk of death therefore rises, according to experts, to more than 137%.

For the China study, people who were quarantined after coming into close contact with someone infected with the Delta variant were examined. The PCR test gave them positive after an average of four days, instead of six as was the case for the first variants. In addition, the viral load was 1,200 times higher on the first positive test than in the original variants of the virus.

“This suggests that this disturbing variant may reproduce faster and be more contagious in the early stages of infection,” the WHO noted in light of the data.

In the whole world, the number of new cases of coronavirus infection increased 12% to 3.4 million in the week ending July 18. The highest number of new cases were recorded in Indonesia (over 44%) and the United Kingdom (over 41%).

State health agencies point out that behind this increase lies the greater contagiousness of the Delta variant. For example, several countries have again put in place restrictive measures to stop contagion or new strategies, such as the health pass in France, compulsory from this Wednesday to access leisure and cultural places in the country.

Thus, the WHO predicts that the Delta variant, which already accounts for more than three quarters of new COVID cases in many countries, will predominate globally in the coming months.

(With information from Europa Press)

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