Photo taken on Jan 22, 2020 shows an exterior view of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (LIU QU/XINHUA)
MILAN / ADDIS ABABA / HAVANA / LONDON – The World Health Organization said on Monday it is tracking a few dozen cases of two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the coronavirus to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous.
It has added BA.4 and BA.5, sister variants of the original BA.1 Omicron variant, to its list for monitoring. It is already tracking BA.1 and BA.2 – now globally dominant – as well as BA.1.1 and BA.3.
The WHO said it had begun tracking them because of their "additional mutations that need to be further studied to understand their impact on immune escape potential"
The WHO said it had begun tracking them because of their "additional mutations that need to be further studied to understand their impact on immune escape potential".
Viruses mutate all the time but only some mutations affect their ability to spread or evade prior immunity from vaccination or infection, or the severity of disease they cause.
For instance, BA.2 now represents nearly 94 percent of all sequenced cases and is more transmissible than its siblings, but the evidence so far suggests it is no more likely to cause severe disease.
Only a few dozen cases of BA.4 and BA.5 have been reported to the global GISAID database, according to WHO.
The UK's Health Security Agency said last week BA.4 had been found in South Africa, Denmark, Botswana, Scotland and England from Jan 10 to March 30.
All the BA.5 cases were in South Africa as of last week, but on Monday Botswana's health ministry said it had identified four cases of BA.4 and BA.5, all among people aged 30 to 50 who were fully vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms.
In this file photo taken on Dec 8, 2021, a woman is vaccinated by a member of the Western Cape Metro EMS in an ambulance which has been converted to facilitate vaccinations at a COVID-19 vaccination event in Cape Town. (RODGER BOSCH / AFP)
Africa
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 11,363,738 as of Sunday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union said the death toll across the continent stands at 251,551 and that 10,725,904 patients have recovered from the disease so far.
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are among the countries with the most cases on the continent, said the Africa CDC.
South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 cases in Africa with 3,731,247 cases, followed by Morocco with 1,163,962 cases as of Sunday evening.
In terms of the caseloads, southern Africa is the most affected region, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected region, according to the Africa CDC.
In this file photo taken on Aug 24, 2021,
a nurse prepares Roxana Montano, 3, to receive her dose of Soberana Plus, a Cuban vaccine against COVID-19, at Juan Manuel Marquez hospital in Havana, as part of the vaccine study in children and adolescents. (ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP)
Cuba
Cuba has reported a decrease in COVID-19 infections and deaths in the past week as the national mass immunization program continues.
In the past seven days, the number of daily cases has fallen from 5,364 to 4,290, and the number of daily deaths has also decreased from five to four.
On Sunday, Cuba reported 603 new cases and one death, raising the total caseload to 1,096,837 and the national death toll to 8,518.
Up to 9.9 million of Cuba's 11.2 million residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with Cuban-made vaccines Abdala, Soberana-02 and Soberana Plus, while 6.4 million have received booster doses.
Italy
Italy reported 53,253 COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, down from 63,992 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 90 from 112.
Italy has registered 160,748 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world.
Some 352,265 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, well below the previous day's 438,449, the health ministry said.
UK
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II said COVID-19 had left "one very tired and exhausted" as she talked to health workers and a former patient about her own experience of "this horrible pandemic".
Britain's 95-year-old monarch tested positive for COVID-19 in February and was described as having had mild, cold-like symptoms. She later returned to light duties.
The queen, who is patron of the Royal London Hospital, spoke on a video call to National Health Service workers at the hospital who had helped to build and run a 155-bed unit to cope with a surge in patients needing help with their breathing.
Her conversation with staff came as she marked the official opening of the hospital's Queen Elizabeth Unit.
ALSO READ: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID-19
"It's amazing, isn't it, what can be done, when needs be?" she said in comments released by Buckingham Palace late on Sunday.
The queen also spoke to Asef Hussain, who had been seriously ill with COVID-19 and who lost family members to the virus. "It does leave one very tired and exhausted doesn't it, this horrible pandemic?" she said to him.
The queen asked how the patients had coped without being able to see family members. "It obviously was a very frightening experience," she said.
Elizabeth II, who turns 96 later this month, has cut back on engagements since being hospitalized for a night last October for an unspecified illness.
New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the New York Democratic Party 2022 state Nominating Convention, in New York on Feb 17, 2022. (KENA BETANCUR / AFP)
US
New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after waking up in the morning with a "raspy voice," his only symptom, a spokesperson said, becoming one of the latest high-profile Gridiron dinner attendees to come down with the virus.
Eric Adams, 61, will cancel all his public events for the remainder of the week and will immediately begin taking anti-viral medications, the spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said in a statement
Adams, 61, will cancel all his public events for the remainder of the week and will immediately begin taking anti-viral medications, the spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said in a statement.
"While he is isolating, he will continue to serve New Yorkers by working remotely," the statement said.
Adams on Sunday marked his first 100 days in office leading the nation's most populous city, once the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. He was in Washington last weekend to hold a series of meetings and to attend the Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday.
The event, usually a highlight of the Washington social calendar, has been blamed in recent days for a rash of COVID-19 positive test results among high-ranking officials and politicians, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Joaquin Castro.
In all, 67 people who attended the event have tested positive, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tested positive for COVID-19 and was currently asymptomatic, her spokesman said on Thursday. She did not attend the event.
President Joe Biden, 79, tested negative on Wednesday night, the White House said.
