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Coronavirus pandemic

Fatality risks of those infected with Delta strain skyrocketing, expert insists

This variant of the coronavirus has a higher pathogenicity, Vladimir Chulanov pointed out

MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. The probability of death of patients with the coronavirus Delta strain has surged by 132%, Vladimir Chulanov, chief non-resident expert on infectious diseases of the Russian Health Ministry, Deputy Director for Clinical and Analytical Work at the Central Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology, said on Monday.

"As for the Delta strain, it has certain features. Apart from that, it spreads quicker than the previous strains and it has a higher pathogenicity. It means that it causes more severe forms of the disease and, according to one of the studies, the probability of hospitalization increases by 108%, and the risks of death surge by 132%," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

According to Chulanov, the genetic diversity of circulating strains decreases as vaccination coverage expands. It means that risks of the emergence of more malign variants of the virus go down, he added.

Chief of Russia’s sanitary watchdog Anna Popova said earlier that the Deltra strain accounts for 97% of Russia’s coronavirus cases.

According to the latest statistics, around 243.7 million people have been infected worldwide and more than 4.9 million deaths have been reported.

To date, 8,279,573 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 7,186,611 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 231,669 fatalities nationwide. The Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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