Argimon warns that the delta plus variant has already reached Catalonia
Catalan Health Minister calls for more "prudence" due to the increase in contagions in several European countries
BarcelonaThe delta plus variant of the coronavirus has already reached Catalonia, although the cases that have been detected "can be counted with the fingers of one hand". This has been explained by the Calatan Health Minister, Josep Maria Argimon, from Girona, during the presentation of the Campus Salut, which will host the future Hospital Universitari Dr. Josep Trueta. Argimon has made an appeal to citizens' "maximum prudence". The delta plus is a mutation of the virus in its delta variant - much more transmissible - which has been detected in the United Kingdom and is now in Catalonia. "At the moment it is anecdotal, there are five cases, but surely this afternoon I communicate some more", the Minister warned. He added: "We start here and that's how we move forward".
In fact, yesterday the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, said that the Spanish government had not yet detected any cases of this variant. Everything suggested, however, that it was a matter of time. Argimon recalled this morning that autumn is the time when most cases of coronavirus infection occur and that is why a significant increase in the number of cases is expected. In this sense, the Minister insisted on the importance of wearing masks indoors and outdoors when there is no safety distance.
More than a million infected
The announcement of the arrival of the delta plus variant coincides on Saturday with the new data accumulated in Catalonia. One million Catalans have already had covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Health. Specifically, 1,000,468 people have had the disease - these are cases confirmed by the department with various detection methods. This figure also includes 12,181 people suspected of having had covid-19, but that at the time, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, could not undergo a test because they were not available. In fact, the figure of one million confirmed coronavirus infections with a PCR or lateral flow test in Catalonia has not yet been exceeded. According to data from Saturday, it stands at 922,197 people. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 23,991 people have died from covid-19 in Catalonia.
