Europe Watches With Worry As Delta Variant Spreads Fast In UK and Lisbon, Portugal

- A tram drives through an empty downtown Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday. Authorities banned all weekend travel in and out of the capital to cut down on any further spread of the coronavirus to other parts of the country.
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NPR, June 21, 2021. - Excerpts, Ed.

A worrying spike of coronavirus infections in Europe is being driven by the delta variant, according to global health leaders, even as immunization rates in some countries are on the way up. Increased cases reported in the U.K. and Portugal have forced officials to reimplement lockdown restrictions or hold off on lifting pandemic mandates. Officials in France, Germany and Spain said they are closely monitoring clusters of infection tied to the delta variant. The strain, also known as B.1.617.2, was first detected in India. It is now "well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility," Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist said Friday.

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been shown to be effective against this strain. A recent study from Public Health England showed two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the delta variant compared with 93% effectiveness against the alpha variant, the variant first detected in the United Kingdom. The vaccine only provided 33% protection after just one dose. Still, in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions shared similar concerns of the spread of the delta strain. The CDC declared last week that it was a "variant of concern," meaning it poses a significant threat to unvaccinated people.

- UK: A Delay In Lifting Lockdown Restrictions: PM Johnson announced last week a delay in plans to lift the final elements of the nation's lockdown restrictions, citing "a faster than predicted" spread of the strain. Set to end Monday, Johnson said restrictions on businesses and large events will remain in place until July 19. U.K. data shows 99% of sequenced and genotyped confirmed coronavirus cases across the country are the delta variant. The weekly data as of June 18 showed the delta variant in the U.K. has risen by 33,630 from the previous week to a total of 75,953. This comes despite the nation's high immunization rate, with 59.5% of the population fully vaccinated. A reported 81.6% have received one dose. The U.K. Health Security Agency said, "The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine." On Friday, the government announced every adult over the age of 18 is eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

- Portugal: Authorities in Portugal banned all weekend travel in and out of Lisbon, the capital, to cut down on any further spread of the virus to other parts of the country. Portugal's National Health Institute reported this weekend the delta variant is shown to be in at least 60% of new cases in Lisbon. The country reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the 4th day in a row on Saturday, according to Reuters.
- Spain, Germany and France watch with concern: Cases tied to the delta strain are reported as being low in France, Spain and Germany, but each nation's health minister warn that the delta variant is perceived as a real threat...

More,
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1008634467/europe-watches-with-worry-as-delta-variant-spreads-fast-in-the-u-k-and-lisbon
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- June 21, 2021. Covid-19: Anti- lockdown protesters clash with cops in central London on intended 'Freedom Day,' the day coronavirus restrictions were originally supposed to end. June 21 was set out as the point people would be able to meet in large groups again, among other changes.

But the prime minister pushed the date back to July 19 citing concerns over the new and more infectious Delta variant, first identified in India. ‘We are engaging with a crowd gathering on Bridge Street, #Westminster who are blocking traffic and being obstructive and hostile to officers,’ Scotland Yard said.