World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the Delta variant of coronavirus is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate. 

“Compounded by more transmissible variants, like Delta, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries, we are in a very dangerous period of this pandemic,” Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

“But no country is out of the woods yet. The Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response,” he added. 

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The WHO Chief has added that the Delta variant has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage. 

“Public health and social measures like strong surveillance, strategic testing, early case detection, isolation and clinical care remain critical,” he said.

Ghebreyesus also said that wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and keeping indoor areas well ventilated are the basis for the response.

The Delta variant was first detected in India. It is a highly transmissible strain of coronavirus and is expected to rapidly outcompete other variants and become dominant globally over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Ghebreyesus urged leaders across the world to work together to ensure that by this time next year, 70% of all people in every country are vaccinated.

“This is the best way to slow the pandemic, save lives, drive a truly global economic recovery and along the way prevent further dangerous variants from getting the upper hand. By the end of this September, we’re calling on leaders to vaccinate at least 10% of people in all countries,” he said.