German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Europe is “on thin ice” as the Delta variant of Covid spreads on the continent. Her warning came as EU health officials said the variant would account for 90% of the bloc’s cases by late August. The spread could disrupt plans for lifting restrictions during the summer.

The Alpha variant, first discovered in the UK, hit Europe hard early this year and Delta, now dominant in the UK, is thought 40%-60% more transmissible. Andrea Ammon, the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said on Wednesday that the spread of the Delta variant showed the importance of speeding up vaccinations in Europe, as “preliminary data shows that it can also infect individuals that have received only one dose of the currently available vaccines”. Two doses offered “high protection” against the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, she added.(BBC)…[+]