COVID Delta Variant Now 2nd-Most Common In NYC, Data Shows

NEW YORK CITY — The Delta variant of coronavirus is now the second-most common new strain found in New York City.

New city health department data released Friday shows the Delta variant — B.1.617.2 — account for 17.1 percent of cases tested for different coronavirus strains over the past four weeks.

The UK variant — B.1.1.7 — is still the most common at 30.1 percent.

But the Delta variant appears to be growing rapidly. Torian Easterling, the city's deputy health commissioner, said at a recent interfaith event that the variant accounted for 5 percent of all cases in the city last week.

"As of now, we're at 25 percent," he said.

The highly contagious Delta variant is classified as a "variant of concern" by the CDC.

Experts fear it could fuel a new spike in coronavirus cases across the country, especially among communities with low rates of vaccination.

City health officials have stressed to New Yorkers that vaccinations are the best defense against the variant.

The city's latest coronavirus numbers showed an average of 195 cases a day.

But average positivity has ticked up to 0.76 percent — it recently reached as low as 0.53 percent.

The latest batch of numbers on the Delta variant it accounted for 44 percent of tests, but those could be revised as more cases are included in the finalized tally.