'Stealth' Omicron sublineage dominant in HCMC: health department

A doctor instructs a Covid-19 patient rehabilitation exercises at a hospital in HCMC's District 8, September 21, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

An Omicron variant, known as a "stealth" version of the coronavirus, is now dominant in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal health department stated Wednesday.

Among 67 coronavirus samples sequenced in HCMC, 24 belonged to the BA.1 sublineage and 43 to the BA.2 sublineage, also known as the "stealth variant", said Tang Chi Thuong, director of the HCMC Department of Health. It is also the first time the stealth version of Omicron has been detected in Vietnam, he added.

"HCMC now has both Omicron sublineages, but the BA.2 one has proven dominant. It explains why the coronavirus is spreading so quickly," Thuong said.

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