Epidemiologist: Delta Covid Variant Likelier to Cause Flue-Like Symptoms

Predrag Kon

Serbia’s leading epidemiologist, Dr Predrag Kon, said on June 28 that the Covid-19 delta variant “hasn’t reached Serbia yet, but it’s only a matter of time,” adding that the symptoms the new strain was causing somewhat milder, flu-like symptoms.

“When one variant dominates, the global spread is only a matter of time. It makes a difference if the virus enters the country in large groups, or individually, while its transmission potential matters, too,” Dr Kon said in an interview with the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS).

According to the member of the Serbian government’s Covid-19 Crisis Headquarters, the spread of the Delta variant depends directly on the size of the susceptible population, explaining that restrictions “build barriers,” preventing the virus from spreading easily.

“Given the situation as it is, when coronavirus activity is fairly low, we need to warn that we are not out of the woods yet, because the virus is still among us. Serbia boasts high vaccination rates, and the situation is rather stable, but Britain and Israel had a very high level of immunization coverage, too, but the number of new infections in Israel has risen tenfold since mid-June,” the doctor explained.