Cases of Omicron subvariant double every week in US: CDC

Washington: Cases of a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant are doubling in the US every week, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The BA.2 variant was responsible for 8.3 per cent of the Covid infections in the country in the week ending February 26, Xinhua news agency quoted […]

Washington: Cases of a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant are doubling in the US every week, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The BA.2 variant was responsible for 8.3 per cent of the Covid infections in the country in the week ending February 26, Xinhua news agency quoted the CDC estimates as saying.

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The data was up from 4.4 per cent the week prior, and 2 per cent two weeks before.

Health experts have raised concerns that the relaxation of mitigation measures like mask and vaccination mandates in most of the country may lead to rise in cases and hospitalizations, and give the subvariant an extra advantage as it spreads in the country.

As of Saturday, the US continued to be the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths at 79,250,505 and 958,142, respectively.