Milan: The highly contagious Delta variant of Coronavirus has gained dominance in Italy, said the National Health Institute (ISS) on Friday, releasing data showing it contributed 94.8% of cases on July 20.
The variant, the first identified in India December 2020, is now dominant throughout the world and has led to a surge in infection rates that have triggered concerns over the global economic recovery.
In the previous survey based on data from June 22, the Delta variant only represents 22.7% of cases.
On the contrary, the Alpha variant contributed 3.2% of cases on July 20 to the previous prevalence of 57.8%.
“It is very important to continue tracking a systematic case and to complete the vaccination cycle as soon as possible”, said President Silvio Brusaferro in a statement.
Iss said the survey did not include all cases of variants but only those detected on that day were carried out.
It added that the gamma variant was first identified in Brazil, down to 1.4% of cases from 11.8% in previous surveys.
The Institute also showed a “very small increase” in the case of beta variants, was first identified in South Africa, which was said to be characterized by partial embezzlement.
Italy has registered 128,029 deaths related to Covid-19 since the plague emerged in February last year, the second highest victim in Europe after the UK and the eighth highest in the world.
This has reported 4.34 million cases to date.
Nearly 59% of Italy more than 12 years are fully vaccinated on Friday, while around 10% are waiting for their second dose.