Delta variant of coronavirus seen dominant in Germany by autumn

BERLIN - The more infectious Delta coronavirus variant will become dominant in Germany by the autumn at the latest, the country's top public health official said on Friday, urging the public both to continue wearing masks indoors and to get vaccinated.

"The Delta variant makes up about 6% of infections, but its share is growing," Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said, referring to the variant first identified in India. "It is not a question of if Delta will become dominant but a question of when," he added. "It will have the upper hand in the autumn at the latest."