New Covid Omicron sub-variant found in India: WHO | Times of Oman

New Covid Omicron sub-variant found in India: WHO | Times of Oman

File photo - World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Geneva: A new sub-variant BA.2.75 of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in various countries including India, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Ghebreyesus said that the world body was following the development. "On COVID-19, globally reported cases have increased nearly 30 per cent over the past two weeks. Four out of six of the WHO sub-regions saw cases increase in the last week," Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

"In Europe and America, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves. In countries like India a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected, which we're following," the WHO chief said.

On Wednesday, India reported 16,159 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the Health Ministry, 15,394 COVID patients recovered from the disease during the period taking the total number of recoveries since the onset of the pandemic in the country to 4,29,07,327. The rate of recovery currently is 98.53 per cent.

During the briefing yesterday, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that there has been an emergence of a sub-variant that is being called the BA.2.75. "First reported