Covid-19: What we know about the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variants

The number of covid patients admitted to hospital rose steadily from around 550 a day at the end of May to more than 2200 in the second week of July. However, this has since begun to drop, to around 1700 in late July. Daily deaths with covid-19 recorded on the death certificate also rose from the beginning of June, from around 30 to a high of 134 in mid-July. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on 22 July that cases, deaths, and hospital admissions were all rising, fuelled by BA.5, which accounted for an estimated 78% of cases. The seven day daily average of new hospital admissions was 6180 (13-19 July), a 4.7% increase from the previous week (5902).5 It has since started to drop. In China, reports suggest that the country is bracing for yet more lockdowns as the omicron subvariants continue to spread