Delta variant circulating in Sao Paulo: health official

The highly contagious coronavirus delta variant is “already prevalent” in Brazil’s most populous state, São Paulo, officials in the country with the second highest death toll in the world on Wednesday. Stated.

The variant is High vaccination rate“Already indigenous, that is, it is already circulating in the environment of those who have never traveled, for example, those who have come into contact with people who were in India,” said Jean Gorinchitain, Secretary of Health in São Paulo. Said.

The subspecies was first detected in India.

Brazil, which has recorded more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, has the second highest number of casualties after the United States, with more than 12 isolated cases of delta infection recorded until last week. People who have been in contact with India or the people who were there.

However, on Monday, the city of São Paulo reported the first suspected local infection in a 45-year-old man who had not recently traveled abroad.

The next day, two more cases were reported in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the world has exceeded the threshold of 4 million deaths from the coronavirus.

Brazil, with 212 million inhabitants, experienced a particularly devastating second epidemic wave from January to April, primarily due to the first detected gamma variant in Manaus, northern Amazonas. did.

To date, South American giants have recorded more than 526,000 deaths from the coronavirus. However, daily mortality has leveled off in recent weeks, rising from about 2,000 in mid-June to 1,600 last week.

Delta mutants, which are more contagious than any previous strain, have already been found in about 100 countries.

© 2021 AFP