Spread of COVID-19's Delta variant will substantially up cases, put pressure on healthcare: WHO
United Nations/Geneva: The increased transmissibility associated with the COVID-19's Delta variant is likely to substantially increase cases and put a greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in the contexts of low vaccine coverage, the WHO has warned.
In its COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released on Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said that an overall rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant is reported across all WHO regions.
As of July 13, at least 111 countries, territories and areas have reported detection of the Delta variant, and this is expected to continue to increase, becoming the dominant variant globally in the coming months.
The increased transmissibility associated with the Delta variant is likely to result in substantial increases in case incidence and greater pressure on healthcare systems, particularly in contexts of low vaccine coverage, it said.
Globally, cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 178 countries, territories or areas, while 123 countries reported cases of the Beta variant, 75 countries reported cases of the Gamma variant.
The update said that the Delta variant has shown higher transmissibility than other Variants of Concerns (VOCs) identified to date.
The increased transmissibility means that it is likely to become the dominant variant globally over the coming months, the update said.
It said that the emergence of more transmissible variants, coupled with the relaxation and inappropriate use of Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) and increased social mobility and mixing and low vaccination coverage in many countries continue to contribute to rapid surges in incidence, hospitalisations and deaths in many countries.
Moreover, in large parts of the world, there remain gaps in epidemiological surveillance, testing and genomic sequencing, and this limits our ability to monitor and assess the impact of current and future variants in a timely manner, it said.
The update noted that as countries gradually resume non-essential international travel, the introduction of risk mitigation measures aiming to reduce travel-associated exportation, importation and onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 should be based on thorough risk assessments conducted systematically and routinely.
Almost a quarter (24.7 per cent) of the world's population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine - over three billion doses administered. However, there are vast inequities in vaccine distribution and administration with the majority of vaccines administered in a small number of high and upper-middle-income countries.
The update of the COVAX facility has been working to reduce this gap, but a large proportion of the world's population remains susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The breadth and quality of evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of current vaccines against emerging variants remains limited; nevertheless, the available evidence suggests full vaccination offers high levels of protection against severe disease and death for all four VOCs, with mixed evidence as to the impacts on infection, mild-moderate disease and transmission.
Virus evolution and the phenotypic impacts of all variants, including potential immune escape, require close monitoring and assessment, including the possible need for future adjustments to vaccine composition, vaccination strategies and/or coverage targets, it said.
The global number of new cases reported last week (July 5-11, 2021) was nearly 3 million, a 10 per cent increase as compared to the previous week. Following a steady decline for nine consecutive weeks, the number of weekly deaths increased by 3 per cent this week compared to the previous week, with over 55,000 deaths reported, the update said.
Globally, COVID-19 incidence increased with an average of over 4,00,000 cases reported each day as compared to 3,70,000 from the previous week.
The cumulative number of cases reported globally is now over 186 million and the number of deaths exceeds 4 million.
This week, all regions with the exception of the Americas recorded an increase in incidence. The Eastern Mediterranean Region recorded the largest increase in incidence (25 per cent) followed by European Region with a 20 per cent increase as compared to the previous week.
The African Region had the smallest percentage increase in incidence with a 5 per cent increase. However, the region recorded a 50 per cent increase in the number of deaths as compared to the previous week.
The South-East Asia Region also recorded a significant increase in the number of deaths, reporting a 26 per cent increase as compared to the previous week. The Region of the Americas reported a 3 per cent decline in incidence and an 11 per cent decrease in the number of deaths reported last week.
The update said that the highest number of new cases were reported from Brazil (333,030 new cases; 9 per cent decrease), India (291,789 new cases; 7 per cent decrease), Indonesia (243,119 new cases; 44 per cent increase), the United Kingdom (210,277 new cases; 30 per cent increase) and Colombia (174,320 new cases; 15 per cent decrease).
In the South-East Asia Region, the highest numbers of new deaths were reported from India (6,035 new deaths; 0.4 new deaths per 100,000; a 4 per cent decrease), Indonesia (5,882 new deaths; 2.2 new deaths per 100,000; a 71 per cent increase) and Bangladesh (1,354 new deaths; 0.8 new deaths per 100,000; a 52 per cent increase).
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Balendra Shah's RSP makes history, registers landmark victory in Nepal elections
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Kathmandu (PTI): Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's RSP is all set to form the next government in Nepal after securing sweeping victory in crucial general elections on Saturday, decimating the established parties in the politically fragile nation.
Popularly known as Balen, the 35-year-old prime ministerial candidate of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) defeated four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli, the chair of Nepal's legacy party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) -- CPN-UML -- by a huge margin of about 50,000 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency.
Balen, 35, secured 68,348 votes against 74-year-old Oli's 18,734, the Election Commission (EC) said.
He is expected to be the next prime minister of Nepal, reflecting a public mood of rejection of established parties. The RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, has won 72 seats out of the 90 seats for which results were declared by 9:30 pm, according to the Election Commission (EC).
RSP's seats include a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies of Kathmandu district even as it is leading in 52 seats across the country, the EC data showed.
Legacy parties failed to convince voters for whom the major issues included fighting corruption and an end to nepotism apart from a generational change in political leadership of the Himalayan nation.
The Nepali Congress (NC) won 10 and was leading in eight seats; the CPN-(UML) won just four seats and is leading in eight; the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) won two seats and is leading in five, the Shrama Shakti Party (SSP) was leading in three seats, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) won one seat, the EC data showed. Among the winners is one independent.
Nepal witnessed about 60 per cent voter turnout during the March 5 elections to the House of Representatives. The counting of votes started late Thursday night and as of 9:30 pm Saturday, counting was in progress in the remaining of the total 165 constituencies, the Election Commission said.
The election was being closely watched by India, which is hoping for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the people and government of Nepal for the successful conduct of elections. “It is heartening to see my Nepali sisters and brothers exercise their democratic rights so vibrantly. This historic milestone is a proud moment in Nepal's democratic journey,” Modi said in a post on X.
Modi also said that as a close friend and neighbour, India remains steadfast in its commitment to working closely with the people of Nepal and its new government to scale new heights of shared peace, progress and prosperity.
Oli, who too was projected as the PM face of the CPN-UML, wished Balen for a full five year tenure for his government in the Himalayan nation that has seen 14 governments in the last 18 years.
“Balen babu, congratulations for the victory. I wish your five year tenure be trouble free, successful and hearty congratulations,” Oli wrote in his social media post and attached a 2022 photo showing him gifting a tabla to Balen after the rapper-turned-politician won Kathmandu mayor's election as an independent.
The RSP, which projected Balendra Shah 'Balen' as its prime ministerial candidate and had organised its first election campaign in Janakpur in Madhesh, is heading towards a clean sweep of the province.
‘Balen’, as he is popularly known, projected himself as the “son of Madhesh” during the campaign, with the party launching the campaign with 'Ab ki bar Balendra Sarkar' (This time there will be Balendra’s government) tagline.
Of the total 32 seats in eight districts of Madhesh province, the RSP has won eight and is leading in 22 other constituencies, the EC said.
The party is also making a clean sweep in the Kathmandu Valley winning all 10 seats of Kathmandu district and two in Bhaktapur and two in Lalitpur district.
The party is also leading in the remaining one seat of the Kathmandu Valley with a huge margin, possibly as a result of a massive road show led by Balen in all 15 constituencies on the last day of the election campaign.
RSP chairman Lamichhane won with a huge margin from Chitwan-2 constituency, marking his third consecutive victory with 54,402 votes against his nearest rival NC's Mina Kumari Kharel, who received 14,564 votes.
According to the Election Commission, former prime minister and NCP leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda won from Rukum Purba district by securing 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of CPN-(UML), who got 3,462 votes.
RPP's Gyanendra Shahi won from the Jumla constituency of Karnali province by defeating his closest rival Naresh Bhandari of the NCP and became the only candidate of the pro-monarchist RPP to have secured a seat in the House of Representatives.
The election also saw 10 women candidates win, nine of them from the RSP while one from NC.
Meanwhile, the RSP is also leading in proportional voting system with the party bagging 474,266 votes followed by Nepali Congress with 160,384. The CPN (UML) has received 127,841, Nepali Communist Party 65,363, the RPP 34,154, and Shrama Shakti Party 17,437 votes till now.
Out of a total of 275 members of the Parliament, 165 are being elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 through a proportionate method.
Around 3,400 candidates were vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli of the CPN-(UML), who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
Though Balen was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Oli's ouster, he declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would prefer to contest the parliamentary election for a full term.
In January, he joined the RSP and was soon declared the party's prime ministerial candidate.
The major issues raised by Gen Z before and during the election campaign were anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
Sunil Babu Pant, former MP and a political analyst, said, “The victory of Rastriya Swatantra Party in the March 5 elections and the expectation that Balen Shah could emerge as Nepal's next Prime Minister reflects the people's deep rooted frustration with the old political order and their hope for a new direction.”
“As Balen assumes the country's leadership, his first responsibility must be to demonstrate that corruption will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” he said.
Balen will also face a complex geopolitical challenge, Pant said, adding, “He must prove that he is not a puppet of any external power, western or otherwise. Nepal's leadership must carefully balance relations with all global actors and pursue an independent foreign policy that prioritises the national interest.”
