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COPENHAGEN:The BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which is dominant in Denmark, seems extra contagious than the extra widespread BA.1 sub-lineage, Danish Well being Minister Magnus Heunicke stated on Wednesday in a nationwide handle.
“There is no such thing as a proof that the BA.2 variant causes extra illness, however it have to be extra contagious,” Heunicke instructed a information convention.
The BA.1 lineage at the moment accounts for 98% of all circumstances globally however in Denmark has been pushed apart by BA.2, which grew to become the dominant pressure within the second week of January.
The UK Well being Safety Company has designated BA.2 a variant beneath investigation, saying it may have a development benefit.
Preliminary calculations counsel BA.2 may very well be 1.5 occasions extra infectious than BA.1, Denmark’s high infectious illness authority, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), stated in a notice on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, an preliminary evaluation by the institute confirmed no distinction within the threat of hospitalisation for BA.2 in comparison with BA.1.
“There may be some indication that it’s extra contagious, particularly for the unvaccinated, however that it will possibly additionally infect individuals who have been vaccinated to a better extent,” SSI’s technical director Tyra Grove Krause stated on the briefing.
This might imply the height of Denmark’s epidemic will prolong a bit additional into February than beforehand forecast, Krause stated.
BA.2 circumstances have additionally been registered in Britain, Sweden and Norway, however to a a lot lesser extent than in Denmark.
Denmark on Wednesday introduced plans to scrap the final of its COVID-19 restrictions by Feb 1, the most recent nation in Europe to take action regardless of document excessive day by day an infection numbers.
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