The C.D.C. came out with a report past Friday that the Delta Variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may make people sicker than the original.
The W.H.O. have begun discussions and reported that the 4th wave is beginning in the Middle East, more virile than the prior.
The State of Florida just reported the highest cases of COVID since the pandemic began, flaring due to this vaccine-resistant variant. While research and common read on the situation thus far seems that Delta is less "lethal", not enough time and data is out – for now, we know that hospital beds are filling quickly once again, and state governments have begun to discuss / already renew lockdown ideas.
As the Olympics continue forward, Japan and in particular Tokyo which already had COVID concerns is also ramping up infection counts to new highs and the full toll of this dual occurrence may begin to truly show in the weeks to come.
The International 10 is the next big thing around the corner, slated to run in about two months' time in October with travelling for players/staff beginning around the ides of September. Production plans are probably already underway.
A lot can change in two months' time, all it takes is one or two influential state governments (in Europe or the Americas in this case) to [re]implement mask mandates or impose lockdowns, or even mention them for some, then plans can become thwarted real quick. But as I have little knowledge of the EU landscape regarding COVID and everyday life at the moment, I look to the Europeans (Romanians in particular) – I hope you guys can shed some insight on how things are going and how they might look in the near future.
I believe the last thing anyone wants is yet another delay for TI (and potentially the patch as the two are related time-wise, though it might not matter for the patch), but I fear that another global outbreak is a real cause for the near future. I look to some European insights on current affairs.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/ovs3qy/could_the_delta_variant_of_covid_cause_yet/
