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Coronavirus pandemic
WorldUnited States & Canada

What do we know about the new Omicron coronavirus mutant spreading in the US?

  • A descendant of the super-contagious ‘stealth Omicron’, BA.2.12.1 was responsible for nearly 30 per cent of new US cases last week
  • The variant has been detected in at least 13 other countries, and appears to be outcompeting other strains

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A man wearing a protective mask walks by street art in New York amid the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020. A new Omicron strain is behind 58 per cent of newly reported infections in the New York region. Photo: AFP
Associated Press

What do we know about the new Omicron mutant?

It’s a descendant of the earlier super-contagious “stealth Omicron” and has quickly gained ground in the United States.

BA.2.12.1 was responsible for 29 per cent of new Covid-19 infections in the United States last week, according to data reported on Tuesday by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

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And it caused 58 per cent of reported infections in the New York region.

The variant has been detected in at least 13 other countries, but the US has the highest levels of it so far.

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