By the end of August, the highly contagious Delta variant of the new coronavirus is expected to account for 90 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in the European Union, Al Jazeera reported, citing the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The warning by the health agency on Wednesday echoed a similar statement by the World Health Organization last week, which said the variant first identified in India was becoming dominant globally.
The ECDC estimates that the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is 40 to 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first discovered in the United Kingdom, which is currently the predominant variant of the novel coronavirus circulating in the bloc.
Because of its increased transmissibility, Delta is a matter of concern for many governments across Europe even as most countries are moving to ease restrictions in the wake of an overall fall in new COVID-19 cases.
“It is very likel...