The BA.2 strain of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has become rampant in Victoria, with authorities revealing the sub-variant has been detected in 88 per cent of the state’s 66 water catchments, up from about 50 per cent.
The figure was based on samples taken from water catchments between February 19 and March 4 this year. Victoria’s COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said on Wednesday the BA.2 sub-lineage had been detected in roughly half of Victoria’s wastewater sequencing results.
COVID testing Commander Jeroen Weimer.Credit:Chris Hopkins
The Chief Health Officer’s update today said the BA.2 subvariant has been detected at higher levels than the original BA.1 subvariant in more than half of the state’s water catchments.BA.2 is suspected of being roughly 30 per cent more infectious than Omicron and is quickly becoming the dominant infection in Australia.
You can read more about the sub-variant here.
As we reported earlier, another nine people have died in Victoria with COVID-19.
They were aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Eight of the people died in the past week and one of the people died early this month.
Their deaths bring the total number in the state since the pandemic began to 2673.
As for vaccination rates, 63.4 per cent of Victorians aged 18 and over have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 94.2 per cent of those aged 12 and over are double-dosed.
Of those children in Victoria aged between five and 11, 56.7 per cent have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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