The highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 has mutated further to form a new sublineage called BA.2 or stealth Omicron. This subvariant is now the most dominant strain in the US, UK, China, and some other parts of Asia and Europe. After a long pause with a steady fall in the cases across countries, the BA.2 Omicron subvariant or stealth Omicron is triggering a fresh wave of infection. According to the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), around 33 per cent of positive COVID cases in the country is associated with the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. China is also facing a surge in daily cases, following which the government has imposed a strict lockdown in its biggest city Shanghai for mass testing. The city is home to over 26 million people.
The UK too is experiencing a spike in cases. According to the officials, swab tests have suggested that around 4.3 million people are infected with Covid-19 as of the week ending March 19, up from 3.3 million the week before.
Meanwhile, India registered 1,270 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of the country to 4,30,20,723, while the active cases further declined to 15,859. Follow TheHealthSite.com for all the latest updates on COVID-19.
