In a recent development, it was revealed that the Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 suggests that people vaccinated against coronavirus disease can transmit the highly contagious strain as easily as those who are not vaccinated, Public Health England said.
The results stem from concerns of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about human infectivity amid the spread of the Delta variant.
In a statement, PHE said, “Some early results … suggest that virus levels in people who contract Delta after they’ve been vaccinated may be similar to those who have not been vaccinated.”
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 infections registered worldwide surpassed 200 million on Thursday, an AFP count showed as the pandemic worsens globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where the Australian city of Melbourne has been put back into lockdown.
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Authorities in Melbourne, Australia announced another lockdown as Sydney continued to see a surge in coronavirus cases.
The delta variant is widespread in Southeast Asia, with Thailand recording 20,000 new daily cases for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday.
The country also announced 160 deaths in 24 hours as exhausted morgue workers grapple with the ascending corpses.
“I’ve seen our staff faint a few times lately, so I’m definitely getting tired and we’re almost at our limits,” forensic scientist Thanitchet Khetkham told AFP.
Indonesia’s total Covid death toll topped 100,000 on Wednesday after recording 1,739 of the 10,245 deaths recorded worldwide, with the global number rising to over 4.25 million.
Japan’s capital, Tokyo, set a new record of 5,042 daily cases just three days before the end of the Olympics.
Africa also set a new record, with 6,400 deaths in the week ending August 1, the largest number on the continent since the pandemic began, the World Health Organization said.
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