ARCHIVED - Delta variant accounts for 68 per cent of Covid cases in Spain
In the Comunidad Valenciana the Delta strain is responsible for 96 per cent of new coronavirus infections
Data regarding the different strains of coronavirus present in Spain take time to filter through as the results of genetic sequencing are generated, but the latest report published by the Ministry of Health on Monday 26 July shows that by the week of July 5 to 11 the Delta variant accounted for as many as 68 per cent of new cases analysed.
Without doubt the spread of this variant, which now lies behind almost all cases of Covid in the UK, is at least partly responsible for the 14-day incidence rate in Spain having climbed to 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, the presence of the strain varies considerably from region to region: in the Comunidad Valenciana the latest data show it to be responsible for 96.4 per cent of cases analysed, while in other parts of the country the equivalent proportion is in single figures.
Nonetheless, projections made by the European Centre for Disease Control suggest that figures of over 90 per cent will be common throughout the EU by the end of August.
In the meantime, the Alpha variant accounts for fewer and fewer cases, the latest weekly data showing a drop from 55.3 per cent to 42.9 per cent, while the Beta and Gamma variants are related to only 2.2 per cent of cases in Spain.