CAIRO: The World Health Organization said Thursday the Delta variant has led to a "surge" in coronavirus outbreaks triggering a "fourth wave" in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where vaccination rates remain low.
The global health body said the highly transmissible strain, first detected in India, has been recorded in 15 out of the 22 countries of the region under its purview, stretching from Morocco to Pakistan.
"The circulation of the Delta variant is fuelling the surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths in an increasing number of countries in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region," it said in a statement.
"Most of the new cases and hospitalised patients are unvaccinated people. We are now in the fourth wave of Covid-19 across the region," said Ahmed al-Mandhari, director of WHO's Eastern Mediterranean region.
Infections have increased by 55 percent, and deaths by 15 percent, in the last month compared to the month before. More than 310,000 case and 3,500 deaths have been recorded weekly.
Countries such as Tunisia, which has suffered the biggest number of Covid-19 deaths in North Africa, have been struggling to contain the outbreak.
Critical shortages of oxygen tanks and intensive care beds have stretched the capacities of healthcare systems regionally.
WHO noted the rapid spread of the Delta variant was quickly making it "the dominant strain" in the region.
According to a recent paper in the journal Virological, the amount of virus found in the first tests of patients with the Delta variant was 1,000 times higher than patients in the first wave of the virus in 2020, greatly increasing its contagiousness.
Delta variant drives Mideast virus surge: WHO
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Delta variant drives Mideast virus surge: WHO
- WHO said the highly transmissible strain has been recorded in 15 out of the region’s 22 countries
- Tunisia has been struggling to contain the outbreak
Australia tells families of diplomats to leave Israel, Lebanon
- The government has also offered voluntary departures to Australian diplomats’ dependants in the UAE, Jordan and Qatar
- The Australian government continues to advise citizens in Israel and Lebanon to consider leaving
JERUSALEM: The Australian government has told dependants of Australian diplomats in Israel and Lebanon to leave the two Middle East countries, citing a deteriorating security situation in the region, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The government has also offered voluntary departures to Australian diplomats’ dependants in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar, it said on an official ministry X account.
US President Donald Trump laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying he would not allow the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism to have a nuclear weapon.
Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as Washington builds up military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region if it is attacked, but Tehran’s top diplomat said on Tuesday that a deal with the US was “within reach” if diplomacy is prioritized.
The Australian government continues to advise citizens in Israel and Lebanon to consider leaving while commercial options are still available, the foreign ministry said.
The announcements were made in a series of posts on the foreign ministry’s Smartraveler X account.
