The Indian Coronavirus Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of the virus that originated in India, is believed to be responsible for the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in Libya and the infection of more younger people in the community, says Director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Badr Al-Din Al-Najjar.

In a press statement, the NCDC Head indicated a substantial increase in Covid-19 cases and highlighted that many patients are relatively young.

According to Al-Najjar, the Indian variant, more accurately called B.1.617, is 225% more contagious than the 'regular' strain.

However, he confirmed that the situation is still under control, but authorities must work to equip the isolation centers in order to deal with the current surge in cases, as between 2.5% to 5% of those infected need hospitalizing.

Addressing concerns about the delay in receiving the second vaccine shot, the NCDC Head explained that there is no risk of losing the benefits of the first dose in case of increasing the interval between the two vaccine doses.

He also expressed concern about the easing of restrictions despite the threat of the Indian variant looming large.