Nearly 200 cases of Omicron sub-variant seen here

A total of 48 local cases and 150 imported cases in Singapore have been confirmed to have had the BA.2 Omicron sub-lineage as at Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday that the health authorities in Denmark have disclosed their findings that BA.2 is more infectious that BA.1, but with no significant difference in clinical outcomes.

An MOH spokesman said in response to media queries: "We will need further data and study to fully understand the implications for severity, immunity and transmissibility of BA.2."

The BA.1 lineage accounts for 98 per cent of all Omicron cases globally, but in Denmark, it has been pushed aside by BA.2, which became the dominant strain in the second week of January.

The UK Health Security Agency has designated BA.2 a variant under investigation.

Denmark's top infectious disease authority, the Statens Serum Institut, said preliminary calculations suggest BA.2 could be 1½ times more infectious than BA.1.