RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to the Ministry of Health, genetic sequencing tests conducted on samples, which do not allow determining the total number of cases, have identified 110 infections with the Delta variant of Covid in the country, of which 5 have evolved into critical conditions and 1 has resulted in death.
This variant originally identified in India is much more contagious than the others and its spread in some regions, such as Rio de Janeiro, is threatening to trigger a new wave of the pandemic in Brazil at a time when the number of deaths and cases has dropped to its lowest levels in several months.
According to the Ministry of Health’s balance, 83 of the 110 confirmed cases were registered in the state of Rio de Janeiro (southeast), 13 in Paraná (south), 6 in Maranhão (north), 3 in São Paulo (southeast), 2 in Goiás (center), 2 in Pernambuco (northeast) and 1 in Minas Gerais (southeast).
The Delta has become the second most contagious in Brazil after the so-called Gamma variant, which originated in Amazonas.
The disclosure of the rise in the number of Delta variant cases in Brazil coincided with the generalized slump in stock markets worldwide on Monday due to investors’ concerns about the rapid advance of this strain in several countries.
The Ministry of Health assured that it has discussed with regional health secretariats measures to expand surveillance of this variant, including conducting an increased number of genetic sequences across the country.
The growing number of cases of the Delta variant comes at a time when Brazil is beginning to record a sharp decline in deaths and infections from Covid to their lowest levels in several months.
According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil recorded 542 new Covid deaths on Monday, the lowest since February 21 (527) and 15,271 new infections, the lowest figure in over 8 months, since the 15,360 infections recorded on November 15 last year.
The average number of deaths in the past week fell to 1,218 per day on Monday, the lowest in 4 and a half months. The average had not been this low since February 28, when 1,205 daily deaths were recorded.
The average number of infections in the past week fell to 40,696 cases per day on Monday and had not been this low since January 6, when the average stood at 35,422 daily infections.
Despite the slow decline in the incidence of the pandemic, Brazil remains one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by Covid. Its almost 543,500 victims make it the country with the second highest number of Covid deaths, surpassed only by the United States, and its almost 19.4 million infections give it the third highest number of cases, after the USA and India.