Laboratories have so far confirmed 120 cases of delta variant coronavirus in the Czech Republic, formerly known as Indian coronavirus. They occurred in Prague, Liberec, Ústí nad Labem, Moravian-Silesian and Hradec Králové regions and in the Vysočina region. The first case of the lambda variant, which is dominant in Peru, also appeared. This follows a report from the National Reference Laboratory for Influenza and Non-Influenza Respiratory Viral Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NRL). A total of 4717 samples were sequenced.
Of the other variants, 65 cases of the beta variant, the so-called South African, were registered in several independent outbreaks and 21 cases of the gamma variant, formerly known as the Brazilian, in Prague, Brno, Mělník, Hradec Králové and the Pardubice region. In the Central Bohemian Region, an as yet undetected variant of lambda has appeared, which is dominant in Peru, its source is probably in Germany.
According to NRL director Helena Jiřincová, the British variant is still dominant in the Czech Republic. “Currently, the incidence of positives is low, so sequencing centers may need to cooperate in sample collection and there will be fewer sequenced samples in absolute numbers, but the percentage of sequenced samples will increase,” she said.
Experts agree that careful monitoring for new variants and preferential tracing of those infected may prevent the onset of another wave of the epidemic. Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for YES) stated today that the delta variant is more contagious than previous variants of the virus. According to him, its reproductive number is eight, ie an average of eight other people become infected from one person who tested positive. For the British mutation, which prevailed in the Czech Republic at the beginning of this year, the reproductive number increased by 0.4 to 0.7 points compared to the original coronavirus.
Source: CTK
