Coronavirus: Delta variant now causing one in five Covid cases in France

Delta variant is ‘gradually becoming dominant’ despite decrease in cases

Coronavirus testing centre in Paris (AFP via Getty Images)

The Delta variant currently represents more than 20 per cent of Covid-19 cases in France, the country’s health minister has said.

Olivier Veran told France Info radio that the proportion of Delta variant cases was increasing in the country, more than doubling over last week’s estimate that suggested the variant made up only 9 to 10 per cent of cases a week ago.

“The Delta variant now accounts for about 20 per cent of new cases,” he said, “its share keeps on increasing in percentage not in absolute terms as the total number of cases is decreasing.”

On Monday, 509 new coronavirus cases were reported in France, and the seven-day average of daily additional infections fell to 1,819, nearing a 10-month low.

Mr Veran said the Delta variant was “gradually becoming dominant, as it does in all countries in the world, as it is more contagious.”

On Monday, Germany reported that Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant had more than doubled in a week, and it is estimated that the variant now makes up around 50 per cent of all cases in the country.

Last week the EU’s disease control agency warned that the variant could account for 90 per cent of new coronavirus infections across Europe by late August.

The Delta variant, first seen in India, has since been detected in at least 85 countries around the world, and is estimated to be between 40 and 60 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, first detected in Kent.

It is currently the dominant variant in the UK, accounting for approximately 95 per cent of all cases.