Delta variant, a warning the COVID-19 virus is getting ‘fitter and faster’ Delta variant, a warning the COVID-19 virus is getting ‘fitter and faster’ Almost 4 million cases worldwide were reported last week to WHO and the agency expects the total number of cases to pass 200 million, in the next two weeks. “And we know this is an underestimate”, underscored Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus during his regular COVID-19 briefing. Infections have increased in every region of the world, with some even reaching 80 per cent more in the past month. In Africa, deaths have increased by 80 per cent over the same period, the official warned.