The World Health Organization (WHO) said that a more transmissible subvariant of Omicron will increase around the world as the U.N. health body reported a decline in overall COVID-19 cases in the past week.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, told reporters on Feb. 8 that four different versions of the Omicron variant—first described and named in November 2021—are being tracked around the world. The BA.2 subvariant of the virus, which is believed to be more contagious, will likely become more common worldwide, she said.
