DUBLIN: Health experts warn that the Delta variant should not be taken lightly, and that if we are not cautious, the country could suffer another COVID-19 wave. Experts point out that the Delta variant accounts for about 70% of the coronavirus cases in the country.
Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, expressed fear that the country’s increasing COVID incidence could trigger another wave. “Our full expectation is that we’re going to see a significant increase in transmission here. That’s the experience that’s been had across many parts of the UK,” he said.
Six or seven weeks ago, there were around 200 COVID-19 cases reported per day in Scotland, but that number jumped to 4,200 yesterday. Dr. Holohan said the next COVID wave is expected to affect not only Ireland, but the rest of Western Europe as well.
Confirming the CMO’s warning, the director of the director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr. Cillian de Gascun spoke at a NPHET press briefing. The presence of Delta variant has been identified in 55% of the cases examined over the past weekend. According to virologist Dr. Cillian de Gascun, this variant will be dominant in Ireland by mid-July.
He says that preliminary data for the first half of this week show that Delta variant’s presence has reached 70%. Delta’s spread increased from 9% three weeks ago to 28% the following week and to 55% the next week.
The Delta variant is more transmissible than the Alpha strain, which has been dominant in Ireland for the last five months. Evidence suggests that Delta can spread 40% to 60% faster. The virologist said more updates on the analysis would be released next Monday.
Meanwhile, the deputy CMO Dr. Ronan Glynn said that nearly 2,000 of almost 5,000 infections identified in Ireland in the last two weeks were in Dublin.
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