New omicron subvariant blamed for new rise in South African Covid cases

South Africa's latest COVID surge blamed on omicron mutant JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa is seeing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases driven by yet another version of the coronavirus, health experts say. Cases had been dropping in the country since February. AP NEWS

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Cases had been dropping in the country since February. But a new omicron subvariant that scientists call BA.4 began pushing up cases last week and they have risen rapidly since, said Salim Abdool Karim, who previously advised the government on its COVID-19 response.

So far, there has been only a slight rise in hospitalizations and no increase in deaths, said Abdool Karim, who is a public health expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa is recording just over 6,000 COVID-19 cases a day, up from a few hundred just a few weeks ago. The proportion of positive tests jumped from 4% in mid-April to 19% Thursday, according to official figures. Wastewater surveillance has also shown increases in coronavirus spread.

The new mutant appears to be quickly achieving dominance over the original omicron and other versions of the virus, but Abdool Karim said “it’s too early to tell whether BA.4 is going to cause a fully-fledged wave.” ...