Coronavirus

Omicron sub-variant appears to be more contagious, says Denmark

It is now dominant strain in country, but no evidence it causes more disease

COPENHAGEN • The BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which is dominant in Denmark, appears more contagious than the more common BA.1 sub-lineage, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke has said in a national address.

"There is no evidence that the BA.2 variant causes more disease, but it must be more contagious," Mr Heunicke told a news conference on Wednesday.

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

The UK Health Security Agency has designated BA.2 a variant under investigation, saying it could have a growth advantage. Preliminary calculations suggest BA.2 could be 1.5 times more infectious than BA.1, Denmark's top infectious disease authority, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), said in a note on Wednesday.

However, an initial analysis by the institute showed no difference in the risk of hospitalisation for BA.2 compared with BA.1.

"There is some indication that it is more contagious, especially for the unvaccinated, but that it can also infect people who have been vaccinated to a greater extent," SSI's technical director Tyra Grove Krause said at the briefing.

This could mean the peak of Denmark's epidemic will extend a bit further into next month than previously forecast, Dr Krause said.

BA.2 cases have also been registered in Britain, Sweden and Norway, but to a much lesser extent than in Denmark.

Singapore is also seeing an increasing number of infections with BA.2, with 203 out of 12,228 cases that were genomically found to have been caused by the "stealth" variant.

Denmark on Wednesday announced plans to scrap the last of its Covid-19 restrictions by next Tuesday, becoming the latest country in Europe to do so despite record high daily infection numbers.

"We are saying farewell to the restrictions and welcome to life as we knew it before corona," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference on Wednesday.

That means the de facto lifting of all domestic restrictions, including the use of a vaccine pass, mask wearing and early closings for bars and restaurants. Denmark intends, however, to keep some border measures in place for another four weeks.

Meanwhile, in Thailand, 14 people have been infected with the BA.2 sub-variant, with one dying, Department of Medical Sciences director-general Supphakit Siriluck reported on Wednesday.

However, Dr Supphakit said that so far there was no evidence BA.2 was different from BA.1 in terms of transmissibility, the potential for a patient to develop severe symptoms, or the ability to evade immunity created after recovering from Covid-19 or by receiving a vaccine.

In the Philippines, the health authorities have detected 618 Omicron variant cases in the latest whole-genome sequencing run, mainly composed of the BA.2 sub-lineage. According to the Department of Health (DOH), the additional Omicron variant cases composed 91.29 per cent of all 677 samples sequenced.

Separately, more than 200 people have been infected with the "stealth" variant in Hong Kong. It has been traced back to a traveller infected by the strain during a 21-day hotel quarantine, according to the government.

The Hong Kong government is concerned the strain could double the number of cases in two to three days, making it a particular threat to the city.

REUTERS, PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BLOOMBERG

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 28, 2022, with the headline Omicron sub-variant appears to be more contagious, says Denmark. Subscribe