In some places it seems as if the pandemic is almost over. But looking at Portugal is at least worrying. Because of the omicron subvariant BA.5, the number of cases is increasing again rapidly there. Virologists and infection researchers fear a similar development for Germany.
He considers BA.5 to be “more contagious and more dangerous” than the original Omicron variant BA.1, said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in the “ZDF-heute-journal” on June 2nd. “This is definitely a variant that you don’t want, and where we have to be well prepared.”
The proportion of the Omicron line BA.5 in random samples has recently doubled in weekly cycles in this country. It is already 5.2 percent, according to the Covid-19 weekly report by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from June 2, 2022. The value comes from calendar week 20. If the trend has continued, an even higher proportion can now be assumed. Laboratory data from southern Germany already indicate a rate of around 15 percent.
The omicron subtype BA.5 like subtype BA.4 were first discovered in January and February 2022 in South Africa. Since then, they have dominated the infection process there. In the meantime, the variants have already been detected in about 20 countries. The European Disease Control Agency (ECDC) recently upgraded BA.4 and BA.5 from Variants of Interest to Variants of Concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) also lists them as a cause for concern. “I think BA.4/BA.5 will also prevail here,” wrote the virologist Sandra Ciesek from the University Hospital in Frankfurt recently on twitter.