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A new strain of Omicron variant, called “Omicron-like,” has been discovered in Australia, Queensland’s local health authorities announced on December 8.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette Darth said Omicron-Like was discovered on a recent arrival from South Africa admitted to a hospital in Brisbane, the state capital.
Australian forensic scientists have helped international experts identify new variants. As a result, Omicron was reclassified into two strains.
“And we have both here in Queensland,” D’Ath told reporters on December 8.
Peter Aitken, the state’s deputy chief health officer, said there is no S gene dropout for Omicron-like. Identify normal Omicron strains..
He said this would “improve those who recognize the potential spread of Omicron in all communities.”
Omicron-like has “about half” of the genetic changes in Omicron, which is sufficient to classify it as Omicron, Eightken said.
Authorities know that the new strain is “more infectious” and “more contagious,” but it is not yet known what that means for clinical severity or vaccine efficacy.
“Although it doesn’t look as serious as Omicron, keep in mind that the severity of the disease is about 7-10 days behind the case diagnosis, so you have to wait for it to happen,” he said. Said.
Aitken thanked Queensland scientists for their “amazing work” in identifying the differences in genetic markers between the two strains.
“They found the difference here, treated it with a systematic and scientific approach, recognized the difference between the complete Omicron classification and the normal Omicron classification, and made it international in a very short period of time. I handed it over to the committee, to reclassify Omicron, “he said.
Omicron has many mutations Preliminary evidence It suggests an increased risk of reinfection, but the disease is less serious.
Queensland has reported two cases of Omicron. One is in the Hotel Quarantine in Cairns, but the case may be transferred to Townsville Hospital. Another case is Omicron-like, located in a hospital in Brisbane, southern state.
This will take place five days before Queensland reopens its national border on December 17 and vaccines interstate highway travelers and returnees.
Aitken warned Queenslander that the CCP’s “journey” of the virus wasn’t over and that the reopening of the border next week would cause further disruption to people’s lives.
“There is a case, which means you need to consider wearing a mask and you need to contact the trace,” he said.
The Minister of Health also said she was “listening to chatter” online, and some business owners believed they could opt out of customer screening for vaccination status.
“That’s not right. Can you clarify?” Das said. “If you are defined as a business that requires your staff and your patrons to be fully vaccinated, you are bound by that directive. You cannot choose to follow that directive. It’s a legitimate direction to do that. “
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Caden Pearson is an Australian-based reporter with a background in screen writing and documentary. Contact him at [email protected]
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