WHO Reveals Mutant Omicron COVID-19 Variant; 10% More Contagious Than Most Infectious Strain

WHO revealed a new mutant Omicron COVID-19 variant that is more contagious than the most infectious variant (Omicron BA.2) right now.

This is not an April Fools' Day joke but is a new health threat that government officials should be prepared for.

The World Health Organization warned that the new Omicron XE strain is more transmittable than the existing coronaviruses.

The health agency explained that the new is a combination of the two sub-strains of Omicron, which are BA.1 and BA.2, meaning that the new variant has the characteristics of the older Omicron strains.

WHO Reveals Mutant Omicron COVID-19 Variant

According to Express UK's latest report, the new Omicron XE variant is 10% more infectious compared to BA.2 sub-strain.

This is currently alarming since the BA.2 variant is considered to be the most contagious COVID-19 virus up to date.

Now, imagine how transmittable XE really is. As of the moment, infected cases involving XE are still not that high. But, WHO said that the mutant coronavirus might lead to more infections in the near future.

"The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the UK on January 19 and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," said the World Health Organization.

As of the moment, WHO is still monitoring the cases of Omicron XE. The international health agency is also working with other medical experts to learn more about the new mutant COVID-19 strain.

Omicron BA.2 Becomes Most Dominant Variant in US

Since the new Omicron XE still hasn't infected a lot of people across the globe, BA.2 is still the most dominant strain in the United States.

Fortune reported that the contagious sub-variant of Omicron is 60% more transmittable than BA.1 (the original strain of Omicron).

On Mar. 31, WHO announced that BA.2 now makes up 86% of the newly reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Because of its high infectivity, this sub-strain of Omicron is considered to be the COVID-19 "Stealth Variant."

Hopefully, the new XE will not follow the infection trend of BA.2. Right now, the best thing you can do is follow your authorities' COVID-19 safety measures to avoid getting infected.

Recently, free COVID-19 antiviral pills were announced to be rolled out in the United States.

Meanwhile, previous research claimed that COVID-19 face masks have dangerous titanium dioxide particles that can cause cancer.

For more news updates about COVID-19 and other health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by: Griffin Davis