The Delta variant of Covid-19, or the B1.617.2 highly transmissible variant of concern (VOC) first identified in India, has now become the dominant VOC in the UK and may also come with an increased risk of hospitalisation, health officials in Britain have warned. According to Public Health England (PHE), which monitors all Covid-19 variants in the country, Delta variant infections rose by 5,472 in a week to hit a total of 12,431 on Thursday. The latest statistics have led experts to conclude that Delta is now closing in to overtake Alpha the VOC first detected in the Kent region of England.
PHE also said early evidence suggests there may be an “increased risk of hospitalisation” with Delta compared to Alpha, “although more data is needed for us to have more confidence in that finding”. According to the breakdown of official figures, this week 278 people with the Delta variant attended hospital in an emergency. Last week, 201 people attended hospital. Once again, the majority of these had not been vaccinated, PHE said, in reference to its previous studies which showed that two doses of the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective against the Delta VOC
The areas most affected by the Delta variant remain in the north west of England with Bolton, where cases have risen by 795 to 2149, and Blackburn with Darwen which has seen 368 new cases, bringing it to 724 in total. PHE said there are encouraging signs that the transmission rate in Bolton has begun to fall and that the actions taken by residents and local authority teams have been successful in reducing spread.