Israeli scientists predict return of COVID's "delta" strain and new wave of pandemic

Israeli researchers believe that a new wave of global coronavirus cases is possible in the summer due to the return of the "delta" strain. This was reported by the Times of Israel on Wednesday.

Ariel Kushmaro, a professor at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, notes that "the pandemic is not over yet, and, presumably, a new wave will begin sooner or later, in the summer or at the end of the summer." The scientist leads the wastewater research laboratory, in which the analysis of the likelihood of a new wave of coronavirus was carried out. Wastewater monitoring showed not only the extent of the spread of the current virus, but also the presence of its variants.
The results of the study showed that even at the peak of the wave of the Omicron strain, the "delta" variant did not disappear completely. This is due to its high resistance. “We have seen in the past that as one strain spreads, others disappear. But that didn't happen with "delta", which seems to have a certain ability to survive," said Cushmaro.

In Israel, they believe that "omicron" and its sub-variants may soon disappear, but the "delta" strain is quite capable of starting a new round of global infection. Until that moment, as scientists suggest, it will remain in the so-called gray zone until the conditions for widespread distribution among people appear. At the same time, the "delta" variant itself may change and begin to spread in a new form.