UNHCR concerned over spread of Delta variant
Health care systems in many countries in the Asia and Pacific region most at risk, the UN agency fears
UNITED NATIONS/GENEVA: The highly-infectious Covid-19 variant first detected in India “threatens” to rapidly spread in the subregion, including among refugees, the UN refugee agency has said as it warned of vaccine shortages in the Asia-pacific region, including for asylumseekers.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Andrej Mahecic, at a press briefing in Geneva, has said that the fragile health systems in many countries in the Asia and Pacific region have struggled to cope with the recent surge of coronavirus cases.
“We are particularly worried about the situation in the Asia and Pacific region, which in the past two months has experienced the largest increase in the number of cases globally,” he said.
“The lack of hospital beds, oxygen supplies, limited Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacities and scarce health facilities and services have worsened outcomes for those infected with Covid-19, particularly in India and Nepal.
The highly infectious variant of the virus which first emerged in India threatens to rapidly spread in the subregion, including among refugee populations,” Mahecic said.
The B.1.617 Covid-19 variant, first detected in India, is divided in three lineages - B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. The B.1.617.2 is now labelled variant Delta and has been reported in 62 countries as of June 1.
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