It is believed that around 50 per cent of all positive cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland are now linked to the Delta variant.
It is expected that 75 per cent of cases will be linked to the strain in the future, with experts believing that it will be the dominant strain of the virus in the county by the end of the month, the BBC reports.
The Delta variant, or Indian variant, is thought to be 40-60 per cent more transmissible and brings with it a risk of hospitalisation around 1.7 times greater than the Kent variant.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health reported the highest daily total for positive cases across Northern Ireland for the last 100 as 187 new cases were recorded.
Last week, enhanced testing was introduced in Ballymoney and Omagh after probable cases of the Delta variant were identified.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride and Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Ian Young have stressed that “vigilance” is needed amid concerns the Delta variant could surge as it has done in parts of England and Scotland.
In modelling carried out recently to factor in the increased Delta variant transmissibility and its impact in Northern Ireland, a worst-case scenario shows that there could be as many as 5,000 to 6,000 cases a day by the end of the summer - however that scenario was described as “pretty inconceivable”.
It has been reported that mobile vaccine units may be introduced in order to tackle the increasing number of cases and to make vaccines more accessible to those aged between 18 and 30 and may include drop-in centres where an appointment is not required.
