Delta Variant Can Cause Infection In Just 15 Seconds - Malaysian Health DG

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), July 16 (Bernama) -- With the new COVID-19 variants, including the Delta variant, infections can spread very quickly in just 15 seconds via airborne, said Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. He said the airborne infection would raise the infectivity rate (R-naught or Rt) in the community, which then results in a spike in daily cases. “The increase in cases is not only happening in our country but the whole world is affected by the more dominant Delta variant, including our neighbouring countries and the United Kingdom. We can see a spike in cases since June 26 … the increase is due to the high Rt of the Delta variant. “The Rt of a normal virus is between 2.5 and 3, but that of the Delta variant and other variants that we have identified is between 5 and 8. That means if 100 people are infected, the virus can spread to 500 to 800 people in a short period,” he said at a media conference Thursday. -- BERNAMA