BA.4, BA.5 Omicron variants may turn dominant in Telangana

Hyderabad: The two-new variants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which were declared as variants of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), are showing signs of steadily becoming the dominant-circulating Coronavirus in months to come in Telangana and other parts of the country. In the latest […]

Hyderabad: The two-new variants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which were declared as variants of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), are showing signs of steadily becoming the dominant-circulating Coronavirus in months to come in Telangana and other parts of the country.

In the latest genome sequencing data of SARS-CoV-2 by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), cases of the BA.5 variant in Telangana have risen to five, while those of BA.4 have gone up to two.

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Since the third Covid wave between December 2021 and February 2022, the BA.2 Omicron variant has remained the dominant variant across multiple States, including in Telangana. However, the rise of daily new Covid infections over the last five days is an indication that the new variants are quickly managing to get a foothold among the community, public health officials here believe.

The clear and present threat of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants has prompted Health Minister T Harish Rao to urge people to take precautions. “There are clear signs that the cases of Coronavirus are on the rise in certain States. We must learn from our past experience and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. People must wear masks at public places and all eligible persons should take the booster dose,” Harish Rao said at a review meeting on Sunday.

People must ensure that they wear masks in closed public spaces, such as in trains, buses, cinema theatres, auditoriums, malls, multiplexes, offices, hospitals, colleges and schools, in Hyderabad, the health officials have urged.

In the past one week, the average daily Covid infections, which used to be around 40, have spiked to 70 across Telangana, while the daily average number of Covid tests being conducted is around 11,000. Areas under the GHMC, which have reported the largest number of infections in the earlier three waves, are now reporting nearly 50 cases per day. On Sunday, authorities reported 63 Covid cases in Telangana, out of which 47 were from the GHMC limits. The total positivity ratio, which is the percentage of positive Covid cases, has increased from 0.4 per cent to 0.7 per cent in the State.