Omicron BA.2 variant triggers COVID-19 surge in England

The new sub-variant, named Deltacron, combines mutations from both Omicron and Delta. The variant has been detected in multiple areas of France, and cases have doubled in China and tripled in parts of Australia. In England there has been a surge in COVID-19 infections, with case numbers rising by 49.2% in a week. There has also been a rise of 20.9% in patients admitted to hospital for COVID-19-related illness in the past week. However, there has also been a decrease in fatality rates of 4.4%. Currently only a small number of cases of the new variant have been identified and it is not yet known what level of protection vaccines will provide against this sub-variant.