Prognosis

Europe Gets Fresh Virus Warning as Delta Variant Spreads

  • ECDC model sees sharp jump in cases if restrictions loosened
  • Also calls on European countries to speed up vaccinations
A healthcare worker and a Covid-19 patient in the ICU ward at the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany faces hard lockdown measures into late March if authorities fail to contain a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus.Photographer: Andreas Gebert/Bloomberg
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The growing threat of the delta coronavirus variant in the European Union has prompted a fresh warning from the bloc’s disease prevention agency about the pace of vaccinations and not rushing reopenings.

The mutation, first seen in India, is considered even more infectious than the alpha strain, and could hamper efforts to get past the pandemic. It accounts for at least 20% of new cases in Ireland and parts of Germany, while in localized hotspots such as Lisbon, the figure is above 60%.