SYDNEY — Australia’s Victoria state authorities said on Friday they had detected the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 virus variant for the first time in the latest outbreak in Melbourne, stoking concerns of a major spike in cases.
The Delta variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as among the four COVID-19 variants of concern due to evidence that they spread more easily, likely caused the latest devastating outbreak in India.
“It is a variant of significant concern,” Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne. “The fact that it is a variant different to other cases it means it is not related, in terms of transmi…
Keep on reading: Australia finds highly infectious Delta variant in Melbourne virus outbreak