Omicron’s subvariant BA.2.74 recorded in Vietnam
VOV.VN - The General Department ò Preventive Medicine announced on August 17 that Vietnam has recorded BA.2.74, a new subvariant of the Omicron strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
The new subvariant was first detected in a report dated August 8 by Bach Mai hospital, the general department said in its statement on August 17.
According to the general department, the Omicron variant is dominating in the world, with its subvariants BA.2.74, BA.2.75, and BA.2.76 likely to spread rapidly and cause infections to increase again.
In Vietnam, through genome sequencing, epidemiologists have so far found Omicron’s subvariants BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1, and BA.2.74.
The general department also made a correction in a statement released on August 15, noting that subvariant BA.2.75 has yet to be detected in Vietnam.
The daily number of coronavirus infections has increased across the country over the past few days, exceeding 2,000. On August 16 alone, close to 3,000 cases were documented, a record high figure over the past three months.
The Ministry of Health suggested that people should stick to COVID-19 prevention and control measures, including wearing face masks, and disinfecting hands with sanitizer or soap, along with vaccinations.
Vietnam has so far logged more than 11 million cases since the start of the outbreak in January 2020, ranking 12 out of 227 countries and territories worldwide. Of the total, approximately 10 million patients have recovered and 43,100 patients have died of the virus and other underlying illnesses.