Delta Most Transmissible Variant So Far, Spreading Rapidly Among Unvaccinated People: WHO Chief

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is the most transmissible of the strains identified so far and is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated populations. “I know that globally there is currently a lot of concern about the Delta variant, and the WHO is concerned about it too,” he said at a WHO press briefing in Geneva on Friday.

The Delta variant, first identified in India, has now been reported in at least 85 countries.

The WHO chief noted with concern that as some countries ease public health and social measures, we are starting to see increases in transmission around the world.

“More cases means more hospitalisations, further stretching health workers and health systems, which increases the risk of death,” he said.