Skip to content
Subscriber Only

Omicron Sub-Variant Forecast to Cause S. Africa Infection Surge

  • Sub-variant spreading rapidly in South Africa, scientist says
  • New strain more transmissible, but with similarly mild disease
Bloomberg business news
What's the Outlook for Covid-19?

A sub-variant of the omicron coronavirus strain, known as BA.2, is spreading rapidly in South Africa and may cause a second surge of infections in the current wave, one of the country’s top scientists said.

BA.2 is causing concern as studies show that it appears to be more transmissible than the original omicron strain, the discovery of which was announced by South Africa and Botswana in November.