CMO warns of danger posed by Delta variant

The chief medical officer’s warning of the risk the Delta variant poses to the unvaccinated, or those waiting for a second dose.

Dr Tony Holohan says this strain now makes up over 70 per cent of all Covid cases.

The five-day moving average has increased by 32 per cent over the past week, and now stands at 467.

365 new cases were reported yesterday.

And Professor Cliona Ni Cheallaigh, a consultant in infectious diseases, says cases will continue to rise.

“Our vaccination levels aren’t at the point where it wil really l affect transmission rates.

“Our levels of vaccination aren’t strong enough to build a very strong wall against transmission from one person to another with so many people still unvaccinated.

“I think we can expect to see case numbers increase in the coming weeks – a minimum of doubling of numbers at least is what we can expect.”