Covid, contagion alert in Europe. Delta plus variant in Italy from August

Great Britain has recorded the record of covid infections since July. Germany prepares for the peak of cases. In Russia, on another day with over 1000 dead, the lockdown in Moscow returns. The coronavirus rears its head in Europe, while WHO and EMA keep an eye on the Delta ‘plus’ variant, the latest threat. The Covid pandemic “will drag on throughout 2022”, predicts Bruce Aylward, expert from the World Health Organization (WHO), outlining an alarming picture in which “the poorest countries are not receiving the vaccines they need”. Read also GREAT BRITAIN Great Britain, for months leader in the vaccination campaign, reports another 52,009 infections, the highest number since 17 July when 54,674 were confirmed. Another 115 people who lost their lives after contracting Covid-19 on the last day. The number of cases increased by 17.9 percent in the last week (during which 327,537 infections were confirmed), while that of deaths recorded a plus 10.8 percent in the last seven days, 912 deaths in this time span. The easing of measures, with the farewell to masks and distancing, continues to involve a daily price. For Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the line does not change: no U-turn. “We continue with the plan drawn up in July. Let’s check carefully the numbers every day. The numbers of infections are high, but within the parameters of what was expected to be at this stage, given the steps taken. We continue to adhere to the plan “, the words of the prime minister, convinced that the situation, with the the approaching winter, is in any case “incomparably better” than 12 months ago.GERMANY In Germany, the health system is preparing for a new push of the pandemic, with a peak of infections arriving in the coming months. “The increase in the number of cases is expected to accelerate over the course of the fall and winter,” the Robert Koch Institute warned, which predicts a significant increase in outbreaks in medical facilities as well as nursing homes. Unnecessary close contacts should be limited, according to the Institute’s recommendation, and “situations, especially indoors, where so-called super-diffusion events can occur” should be avoided as much as possible. It is declared alarm in Bulgaria: in the least vaccinated EU country, the latest bulletin reports 4,522 infections in 24 hours, the second highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic, higher than the average of 3,669 cases per day recorded in March. The dead are 107. There is enough to trigger the obligation to show the green pass to access cinemas, restaurants, theaters, gyms, hotels and shopping centers. The obligation is in force for all employees of hospitals and retirement homes, as well as for face-to-face university lessons. RUSSIA The time to adopt new measures has already arrived in Russia, after the last sadly record-breaking bulletin with 36,339 new infections and 1,036 deaths. Moscow returns to lockdown on Thursday 28 October as announced by the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin. Only supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open to the public. On the other hand, closure for bars and restaurants, as well as for all shops where non-essential goods are sold. These are the most severe restrictions introduced to contain infections since the summer of 2020. In Russia, “isolated cases” have also been identified. of the AY.4.2 mutation of the Delta Plus variant, considered 10 percent more contagious than the original variant. DELTA PLUS VARIANT The World Health Organization is monitoring the new variant for two additional mutations. At the moment, as well as in Russia, cases have already been recorded in the United Kingdom, the United States, Denmark, Germany and even Italy. Spotlights also turned on by Ema, the European drug agency. “We are all looking at” the variant situation of Sars-CoV-2 with winter approaching, “to try to understand where the virus is going and what we might expect in the weeks and months to come. Delta is still the dominant strain. is circulating “, and” we are beginning to see that there are some additional mutations taking place “at the moment” in a few cases on the Delta variant. We have heard of the “new mutation” AY.4.2 “, which is a of ‘special observations’ for example in Gb where the cases in which it has been sequenced are increasing, “and we have to monitor very closely”, said Marco Cavaleri, head of Vaccines and Therapeutic Products for Covid-19 of the European Medicines Agency Ema, answering a question about the upcoming winter season during the periodic press briefing organized by the EU regulatory body DELTA PLUS IN ITALY The new Delta AY.4.2 “variant has already arrived in Italy. In Brescia we have even seen 2 cases in one on rvey conducted at the end of August, and most likely we were the first to identify it. But since then we have more than 80 sequences deposited nationally “, explained to Adnkronos Salute Arnaldo Caruso, president of the Italian Society of Virology (Siv-Isv), full professor of microbiology and clinical microbiology at the University of Brescia and director of the Laboratory of microbiology of Asst Spedali Civili. “Most of the notifications took place from mid-October, but this – specifies the expert – depends on the fact that now there is the need to monitor it. And looking, of course, one finds “. According to the president of Italian virologists, the variant AY.4.2” should not create absolutely any problem with regard to the effectiveness of the anti-Covid vaccines available today.