New Omicron BQ.1.1 subvariant detected in Astana

ASTANA. KAZINFORM – New Omicron BQ. 1.1 subvariant nicknamed ‘Hellhound’ has been detected in the Kazakh capital, a source at the Astana sanitary and epidemiological control office said Wednesday, Kazinform reports.

While speaking at the press conference, deputy head of the Astana sanitary and epidemiological control office Zhanna Praliyeva confirmed the new Omicron BQ.1.1 subvariant had been found in the samples.

According to her, 322 cases of the coronavirus infection have been reported in Astana since early December. Among those, 117 people have been vaccinated and 50 have been boosted against COVID-19.

Omicron remains the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the Kazakh capital.

Praliyeva also stressed that according to the experts the new BQ.1.1 subvariant is highly contagious and that the COVID-19 incidence is expected to surge.

Earlier Kazinform reported that Kazakhstan had documented 175 new COVID-19 cases in the past day.