The Delta variant has been connected to a COVID-19 recurrence in Nepal, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, but its expansion in the UK has provided scientists with a clear picture of the harm it poses. Delta appears to be roughly 60% more transmissible than the already highly infectious Alpha form (also known as B.1.1.7) discovered in the United Kingdom in late 2020.
What is the Delta variant?
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has the ability to evolve into several types throughout time. In December 2020, the Delta variation (B.1.617.2) was discovered for the first time in India. The CDC has a grading system for variations, and Delta is a problem because it is significantly more transmissible. The Delta variation is 40 to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant discovered in the United Kingdom (which was 50 percent more transmissible than the first virus identified in Wuhan, China).
Despite a high vaccination rate, the Delta variety has spread swiftly, becoming the majority strain in the United Kingdom, and is on pace to become the dominant strain in the United States, where less than half of the population is fully vaccinated. This mutation is also significant since it causes more severe disease, increasing the likelihood of hospitalization by a factor of two.
Indoor environments are considered to pose a greater risk than outdoor ones for transmission of viral particles, due largely to a relative lack of airflow and confined spaces that allow the accumulation of viral particles than is normally the case outside.
Since the onset of the epidemic, scientists have been suggesting that ventilation measures are a critical approach to reduce the risk of infection, but that most communications by the public health expertises focuses on physical distandcing, hand washing/sanitisation and face-masking.
What ventilation is and why it is important?
The process of introducing fresh air into indoor spaces while eliminating stale air is known as ventilation. Allowing fresh air into indoor places can help eliminate virus particles from the air and inhibit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
When a person with COVID-19 breathes, speaks, coughs, or sneezes, particles (droplets and aerosols) containing the virus that causes COVID-19 are released. While bigger droplets immediately fall to the ground, virus-containing aerosols can remain suspended in the air. COVID-19 infection can occur if a person breaths in virus particles suspended in the air. This is referred to as airborne transmission.
The amount of virus in the air can build up in poorly ventilated rooms, increasing the potential of COVID-19 transmission, especially if there are a lot of sick people in the room. The virus can also linger in the air after an infected individual has left.
Bringing in new air and removing old stale air that carries virus particles minimises the likelihood of COVID-19 spreading. The more fresh air that is delivered into the room, the faster any airborne virus will be eliminated.
Ventilation is especially vital if someone in your household has COVID-19 or if you are in an enclosed space with people you do not live with. You can spread COVID-19 to others even if you have only moderate symptoms or none at all.