World Health Organisation warns of surge in cases driven by Delta variant

A surge of coronavirus cases in several Middle East countries, aggravated by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccine availability, could have dire consequences, the World Health Organisation said.

After a decline in cases and deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean

region for eight weeks, the health agency said there had been significant rises in infections for Libya, Iran, Iraq and Tunisia.

Sharp rises were also expected in Lebanon and Morocco.

Next week, countries across the region will mark the Eid Al Adha holiday, which traditionally includes religious and social gatherings where infections could spread.

“WHO is concerned that the current Covid-19 upsurge may continue to peak in the coming weeks, with catastrophic consequences,” its regional office said.

The WHO said a lack of attention to public health and social measures and “increasing complacency by communities”, as well as low vaccination rates and the spread of new variants, were to blame.

The agency said Tunisia had the highest coronavirus mortality rate for each person in the region and Africa.

Daily cases almost doubled in Iran during over the four weeks until early July, it said.

The number of reported Covid-19 cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Djibouti as well as the Middle East states, passed 11.4 million, the WHO said.

More than 223,000 people have died of coronavirus related complications, it said.