More European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, are experiencing new upticks in COVID-19 activity, and in the United Kingdom, where cases have already been on the rise for several weeks, officials designated the AY.4.2 Delta subvariant a variant of interest.Experts in the United States are closely watching activity in the UK and its neighbors, because activity there is often a bellwether for the next phase of the pandemic.Germany, Netherlands eye new risesGermany's Robert Koch Institute said the country's 7-day case incidence rose more than 26 points over the last week, marking the start of a fourth wave, according to Reuters.