(CNS): There were three COVID-related deaths last month among hospital patients, all of whom had underlying comorbidities. Three years after the government locked down the country and closed the borders, 17 people who were admitted to hospital last month, including those admitted for unrelated reasons, were positive for the virus, officials said in the latest edition of the monthly Public Health Spotlight.
Genomic sequencing data shows that almost all of the 217 SARS-CoV-2 samples sequenced from mid-December to mid-January were positive for the Omicron variant. Almost half of the cases (47%) were BA.5 subtypes and 41% were BA.2, but another 10% couldn’t be classified. Among the BA.2 sub-groups, the newly detected XBB.1.5 has quickly become the dominant version of the virus.
“This aligns to international reporting and analysis in the variant technical briefing from the UK Health Security Agency, stating XBB.1.5 to have the most competitive growth rate, alongside…
