“The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain that will ‘pick off’ the most vulnerable people. It has the potential ‘to be more lethal’ because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans,”
-Dr. Mike Ryan, of the World Health Organization
In December 2019, WHO was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause by Chinese authorities on 7th January 2020 and was temporarily named “2019-nCoV”. Ever since, the world has never been the same.
Going by startling statistics available on WHO news dashboard confirmed global cases stand at more than 18.8m with confirmed deaths at over 4.05m while the vaccine doses have so far been administered on about 3.5bn people worldwide.
COVID-19 Delta variant: Time to act is now! The Punch
Published 16 July 2021
“The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain that will ‘pick off’ the most vulnerable people. It has the potential ‘to be more lethal’ because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans.”
– Dr. Mike Ryan, World Health Organisation.
It came like a bolt out of the blues, turning the table on the global socio-economic and political matrix. It came more deadly and devastating on the human health status than the searing scourges of previous diseases such as measles, cholera, HIV-AIDS and that of course, Ebola virus, which reared its ugly head just a few years ago.