The Delta variant of Covid-19, first spotted in India, is now present in 74 countries.
If it is closely monitored, it is because, according to a British study, it is 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant, itself more transmissible than the original strains.
In France, all eyes are on an infectious focus detected at the Haute École des arts du Rhin, in Strasbourg, on June 12, and on a cluster detected in Essonne.
Other countries are faced with the multiplication of cases, with different reactions.
UK
On the other side of the Channel, the multiplication of cases of the Delta variant - or "Indian variant" - has grown to such an extent that the last lifting of restrictions, initially scheduled for June 21, has been postponed by four weeks. Not only has it become the majority, but it also represents more than 90% of new contaminations. Enough to make Prime Minister Boris Johnson admit that it is "clearly a very, very worrying issue". Because in addition to the increase in the number of cases, very marked since mid-May, the United Kingdom must also face an increase in hospitalizations. For more than a month, the English will not have the right to meet more than six indoors, restaurant owners will have to continue to serve only at the table,employees who can are invited to work from home and performance venues can only accommodate 50% of their capacity. The Prime Minister hopes that, during this time, vaccination can continue to progress.
United States
In the United States, the variant already accounts for 10% of infections and the number of cases "doubles every two weeks," said Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the United States food and drug administration, interviewed on CBS. According to this expert, it is inevitable that this variant will end up becoming the majority in the United States, but with geographical disparities. The southeastern states and the western mountainous states are the most exposed to a proliferation of the Delta variant since vaccination is the least advanced there, explains Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of virology from Texas, on the KSBY channel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified this variant as "of concern". However, on the other side of the Atlantic, it is rather time to relax,and states are lifting restrictions one after the other. The authorities therefore rely more on the vaccine, and try to convince the undecided by increasing the number of vaccination centers, by offering assistance to get there, but also even more incentive means such as the distribution of gifts or lottery tickets.
2) We are expecting the #DeltaVariant to continue growing in the US, outpacing all other variants just like it has in India 🇮🇳 and UK 🇬🇧, and become dominant in US by end of July, if not earlier.
Here is the prediction track - via @TWenseleers from @GISAID data.
pic.twitter.com/VRWL9abxZd
- Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) June 8, 2021
Canada
The variant is also progressing on Canadian territory. Several experts fear in particular that it will become the majority in the province of Alberta by the end of June. "It is very clear that we are heading for a fourth wave," even said Gosia Gasperowicz, a biologist from the University of Calgary, interviewed on the national channel CBC. According to this expert, cases linked to this variant double every six to 12 days. It is also likely to be the next majority variant in Ontario. For the moment, the time is still for observation and no additional measures have been taken, but the government is counting on its contact tracing strategy as well as on vaccination. According to Doctor Isaac Bogoch, interviewed by Global News, it is necessary to speed up the distribution of the second dose.
Read also Anti-Covid vaccination: Canada, a sham success?
Indonesia
Jakarta could well return to strict restrictions, and for good reason: the Indonesian capital is facing a sharp rise in contamination - more than 50% in a week - mainly linked to the Delta variant.
It became the majority there as well as in two cities in the provinces of Central Java and East Java.
"If the current situation gets out of control, we will enter an emergency phase and we will have to take drastic measures as in September and February," the governor of Jakarta warned on Monday.
In the capital, the occupancy rate of beds dedicated to Covid-19 has gone from 45% to 75% in one week, according to the daily The Straits Time.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Faced with the risk of a new wave, in particular linked to the Delta variant, the Congolese authorities have decided to act.
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo spoke on television Tuesday evening to announce some restrictions.
"For several weeks, we have seen a persistent increase in the number of people infected: we must govern quickly and methodically," he said, explaining that the problem came "in particular" from the "Indian variant", reports Reuters.
The authorities have decided to limit public gatherings to 20 people and to close nightclubs again.
Last week, the head of state had already warned that hospitals in Kinshasa, the capital, were overwhelmed.
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe too, the Delta variant is rife in several regions, locally creating epidemic peaks. To the point that a two-week localized containment was put in place this weekend in Karoi and Kariba, two towns in the north, whose access is prohibited to people who do not live there, reports the press agency Chinese Xinhua. As of May, restrictive measures - a ban on public gatherings and sporting activities, in particular - had been put in place in the town of Kwekwe, in the center, because of this variant originally detected in India.