WORLD NEWS | Covid Variant XBB.1.5 accounts for over 40% of US cases

washington [US]Dec 31 (ANI): The omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for 40.5% of new infections in the US, The Hill cites data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of this week, the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant has pushed BQ.1 and the BQ.1.1 subvariant from the position where the most previously detected coronavirus mutations were found.

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Descendants of XBB.1.5 The XBB subvariant is a recombinant of two subvariants descended from the BA.2 omicron subvariant. That means it carries genetic data from two versions of the coronavirus derived from the BA.2 subvariant, The Hill reported.

Regionally, XBB.1.5 now accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the Northeast, identified as causing 75% of cases in the New England and New York tri-state area.

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The omicron subvariants XBB and XBB.1 were originally discovered in India. Some scientists, including Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Institute, have raised the possibility that XBB.1.5 may be mutated in New York.

The United States (US) will require all tourists from China to present a negative Covid-19 test result before boarding a flight to the country amid a surge in covid infections in China, a new set of new measures, CNN reported Wednesday. restrictive measures.

With telehealth services, the test can be a PCR test or an antigen self-test.

“The international community is increasingly concerned about the ongoing COVID-19 surge in China and the lack of transparent data reported by China, including virus genome sequence data,” the officials said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, according to Reuters.

In November, the local outbreak of COVID-19 in China hit a record high. Due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation, the authorities imposed a partial lockdown in some areas, while also mandating daily PCR tests for their residents.

In particular, restrictions have been tightened in several major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, starting Nov. 24. (Arnie)

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