China News Service, January 26 (Xinhua) According to a comprehensive report, the WHO said on the 25th that the risk level of the epidemic related to Omikron remains high.
At the same time, at least 40 countries and regions around the world reported the discovery of the subtype variant strain BA.2 of the Ormicron strain.
Data map: On January 4, local time, a new coronavirus testing station on 14th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA tests residents.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
According to reports, the number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world in the past week has reached a new high.
"Countries have reported more than 21 million new confirmed cases, the highest number of cases recorded in a week since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," the WHO said.
The WHO also stated that the level of outbreak risk associated with the Omicron variant strain remains high.
Among the viral gene sequences of samples collected in the past 30 days and their genomes sequenced and uploaded to the Global Shared Influenza Database (GISAID), Omicron accounted for 89.1% and Delta strains accounted for 10.7%.
At the same time, the subtype variant strain BA.2 of the Omicron strain has attracted attention.
According to the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), at least 40 countries and regions around the world have reported related infections, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
A BA.2 variant sample was first identified in South Africa on November 27, 2021.
Relevant studies have shown that compared with the original strain of Omicron, the BA.2 strain has a greater number of mutations and a relatively strong concealment.
However, the WHO pointed out that BA.2 has not yet been classified as a strain of "concern", which means that there is no evidence that the strain will increase the severity of the disease, reduce the efficacy of vaccines, etc.