A medical worker wearing a mask and cap walks near a hospital in Quito
QUITO, March 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ecuador identified its first five cases of the BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in patients in the city of Guayaquil, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry said that it was notified of the cases by the universities that conduct the sequencing of the coronavirus, which have to be confirmed by the National Institute of Public Health Research.
“The epidemiological surveillance of the contacts of the identified people was initiated. They are being monitored by medical personnel,” the statement said.
The ministry added that in countries where the BA.2 variant has been confirmed, “it is more contagious, but there is no evidence that it is more lethal.”
The “stealth Omicron,” as it is known, is spreading rapidly around the world, while the World Health Organization considers it to be of concern and has recommended that emphasis be placed on research.
The cases of BA.2 variant were confirmed at a time when Ecuador is seeing a decline in the fourth wave of nationwide infections.
As of Tuesday, the South American country had accumulated 850,765 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 25,158 deaths from the disease, according to the latest official report. — NNN-XINHUA
