Stealth Omicron in Birmingham now accounts for more than half of Covid cases

Analysis shows the Omicron strain  is now dominant across England
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The coronavirus pandemic is “not over”, health chiefs have warned amid concern about the highly contagious ‘Stealth Omicron’ strain.

The Omicron sub-variant, officially called BA.2, is now dominant across England, analysis shows.

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BA.2 accounted for 57% of cases in England in the last week of February, up from a quarter just two weeks before, according to research by the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

It comes amid a recent rise in both cases and hospitalisations.

Birmingham city centreBirmingham city centre
Birmingham city centre

What is Stealth Omicron?

Stealth Omicron got its nickname because it is more difficult to differentiate from Delta than the original Omicron variant, BA.1.

It is also more contagious but early studies suggest it carries no greater risk of hospitalisation.

How many cases are in Birmingham?

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According to samples analysed by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, in Birmingham, Stealth Omicron currently accounts for more than half of all Covid cases.

There were 344 Covid samples analysed by the institute in the week ending February 26, and of those, 175 (51%) samples were found to be Stealth Omicron, meaning it is the dominant strain in Birmingham.

What about Solihull and Sandwell?

The picture is also similar in Solihull and Sandwell.

In Solihull, there were 95 Covid samples analysed by the institute in the week ending February 26, and of those, 48 (50%) samples were found to be Stealth Omicron.

And in Sandwell, 129 Covid samples analysed by the institute in the week ending February 26, and of those, 67 (52%) samples were found to be Stealth Omicron.

Does this mean local Covid cases are rising?

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Despite BA.2 becoming more dominant in the region, Covid cases are still falling in most areas.

In Birmingham, there were 1885 positive in the week ending March 3, a 9.9% fall from the week before.

In Solihull, there were 585 positive in the week ending March 3, a 5% fall from the week before.

In Sandwell, there were 497 positive in the week ending March 3, a 0.6% increase from the week before.

What’s been said about the rise of Stealth Omicron?

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Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said case numbers were lower than at the peak of the Omicron wave.

She said: “However, the increasing presence of the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron and the recent slight increase in infections in those over 55 show that the pandemic is not over and that we can expect to see Covid circulating at high levels.”

Professor Paul Elliott, director of Imperial College London’s React programme, said England is also seeing a rise in hospitalisations and warned that the BA.2 variant needs to be tracked carefully.

He added: “It is more transmissible. We are seeing an uptick in infections, particularly in the older group, and we are seeing an uptick in hospitalisations.

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“At the moment, we’re possibly seeing the beginning of an uptick, but we don’t know where it’s going to go.”

How were these statistics collated?

The Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed 27,000 positive Covid-19 tests taken in the week to February 26 to determine which variant they were.

Its research did not include Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

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