It has been shown that the COVID-19 epidemic is rapidly spreading in the United States due to sub-lineage mutations of Omicron.
According to the New York Times, New York City health authorities announced on the 18th local time that 'BA.2', a sub-mutation of Omicron, which is more contagious, accounts for about 30% of new cases in New York.
Omicron once accounted for nearly 100%, leading to an explosive spread of COVID-19 across the United States last winter.
New York City's new Health Commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Bersan, said at a press conference that New York was closely monitoring whether the city was on the verge of following the coronavirus outbreak in Europe and parts of Asia.
Director Bersan, however, emphasized that "community transmission is still low" and there is no reason to be anxious right now.
The number of new confirmed cases, which peaked at around 40,000 in early January, has fallen sharply, but is recently rebounding.
As of the 17th, the average daily number of confirmed cases in New York City for a week was 905, an increase of 35% from less than 700 two weeks ago.
BA.2 mutations are also on the rise in the United States as a whole.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among new confirmed cases in the United States, BA.2 mutations accounted for only 0.4% as of January 22, but rose to 13.7% on March 5 and 23.1% on March 12.
New York and neighboring New Jersey are also expected to see an increase in the number of confirmed cases.
New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy said he expects the number of cases to rise in New Jersey eventually, following the global increase in the number of cases.
However, the number of new cases in the United States is still on the decline.
According to NYT's own tally, the average daily number of new cases in the United States for a week as of the 18th was 29,650, down 37% from two weeks ago.
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