Stealth Omicron accounts for 83% of coronavirus cases in Belarus

The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, known as stealth Omicron, accounts for 83% of detected coronavirus cases in Belarus, leading researcher at the National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor Aleksandr Petkevich told the On Point online project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

The situation in Belarus is developing in the same way as in Europe, Aleksandr Petkevich noted. Now the Omicron prevails, mostly its BA.2 subvariant. “Today, this subvariant accounts for 83% of the detected coronavirus cases in our country, while the BA.1 subvariant accounts for 16%. Delta is no longer here,” he said.

According to the researcher, the prevailing variants are changing. “Some are leaving and they are replaced by those that spread faster and more easily. Yet, they are less pathogenic. People get sick less, there is no need for hospital treatment,” he said.