Delta variant makes up 20% of new Covid cases in Catalonia

The Delta variant, the strain of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in India, is on its way to becoming the dominant coronavirus strain in Catalonia. 

On Wednesday, the Catalan health secretary, Meritxell Masó, announced that 20% of all current coronavirus cases in Catalonia are the Delta variant. The previous figure, recorded only at the end of May, revealed that it made up just 12% of all cases. 

As a result, experts predict that in the coming "two to four weeks," this will become the dominant coronavirus variant, replacing the British Alpha which was at its most prominent during the third wave. 

The threat of the Delta strain has led the Catalan health minister, Josep Maria Argimon, to call for increased caution, saying that the variant could “derail” progress and delay the de-escalation of Covid restrictions, such as the relaxation of facemask regulations.

Masó has also stressed how important it is to speed up the vaccine rollout, to manage this new threat. People between the ages of 35 and 39 can now book their vaccination appointments. 

As of June 16, 2021, 3,539,676 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 45.1% of the total population. Out of those, 1,988,459 have also been administered a second dose (25.4% of the total population). 2,161,382 residents are considered to be fully immunized (27.6%).

Travel restrictions

Surrounding concerns about the heightened contagiousness of the Delta strain, from April 27 all travelers coming to Spain from India have had to quarantine for 10 days.

This is still the case after Spain accepted the EU Digital Covid Certificate and other documents for non-EU countries on June 8, meaning that vaccinated people from all over the world are now allowed to enter the country without further health checks. 

The only exceptions are those traveling from Brazil, India, or South Africa, due to the concerning coronavirus rates in these countries.