Sub-variant BA.2 of Omicron detected in Armenia

YEREVAN, February 22. /ARKA/. Armenian health officials have recorded 753 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, saying the total number of confirmed cases rose to 416,510 as of Tuesday morning.

According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 people have died from Covid-19 during the past 24 hours. The total tally of such deaths is now 8,354.

Some 2,075 patients have recovered. Overall, 5,588 people have tested for the infection in the last 24 hours, it said

In total, 2,870,459 coronavirus tests have been administered in the country of 3 million since March 1, 2020, when the first case was detected. Since then 394,155 patients have recovered, and another 12,408 patients are being treated currently at hospitals and their homes.

Armenian health officials have detected the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, the Health Ministry said on its Facebook page. It said the sub-variant was detected by the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention jointly with the Russian-Armenian University.

According to scientists, the BA.2 sub-variant is more contagious than the previous one and the course of the disease may be more severe.

In Armenia, 6 types of Covid-19 vaccines are used now- CoronaVac and Sinopharm (China), AstraZeneca (Britain, Sweden), Sputnik V (Russia), Pfizer and Spikevax (Moderna, USA). Vaccinations are free for people over 18 years old, including foreigners.

On November 11, the government of Armenia extended the coronavirus quarantine until June 20, 2022.

The nationwide quarantine was first imposed on September 11, 2020 replacing the state of emergency that was declared on March 16 to stop the spread of coronavirus. -0-