Delta Coronavirus Variant Believed to Have 60 Percent Transmission Advantage: UK Epidemiologist

Staff collect PCR tests for the COVID-19 disease from members of the public, who have done a test in their own car, at a mobile testing unit at Oasis Beach Swimming Pool in Bedford, Britain, on May 25, 2021. Paul Childs/Reuters

LONDON, UK—The Delta coronavirus variant of concern, first identified in India, is believed to be 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant which was previously dominant in Britain, a prominent UK epidemiologist said on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that England’s full reopening from COVID-19 lockdown, pencilled in for June 21, could be pushed back due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant.