A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that the executive is aware of two sub-variants of Omicron, which will be responsible for the increase in the number of infections in the country.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, this spokesman indicated that the situation is being monitored “closely”, as the number of hospitalizations will also begin to increase.
However, this will not be synonymous with the return of restrictions, the newspaper points out, specifying that this spokesman stressed that, at this time, the executive intends to continue with the plan “living with Covid”.
The subvariants will be BA.4 and BA.5, which are believed to be more contagious but with milder symptoms, similar to Omicron, which emerged in December 2021. “Obviously we are seeing the appearance of two subvariants of Omicron, it is likely that cases are increasing,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
“The most recent data suggests that these are now the dominant variants in the UK. But so far, vaccination has resulted in an increase in cases that does not mean an increase in serious illness or death, without increases in admissions to intensive care units.”
The latest figures show 1.36 million people infected with Covid-19 in the UK during the week of June 18.
Source: Observadora
