New EG.5 Omicron sub-variant accounts for 18% of recent COVID-19 cases: MOH
Ministry of Health says number of COVID-19 cases being treated in hospitals or intensive care units has remained stable
SINGAPORE — About 18 per cent of the recent COVID-19 cases in the community in Singapore are from the new EG.5 Omicron sub-variant.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Friday (11 August) that the number of COVID-19 cases being treated in hospitals or intensive care units has remained stable.
Impact of the sub-variant
The EG.5 sub-variant was first identified in Singapore in a case on 5 May.
MOH referred to information from the World Health Organization (WHO) stating that currently-available evidence does not indicate that the EG.5 subvariant has led to a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, severe disease or deaths, compared to other strains that are currently circulating.
Popularly referred to as "Eris" by internet users, the EG.5 Omicron sub-variant has taken over as the predominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States, as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MOH said it is monitoring the local situation closely.
EG.5 variant transitions to 'variant of interest' amid rising cases
According to the MOH, this sub-variant was initially detected overseas in February and has since been identified in over 51 countries.
WHO elevated EG.5 from being a "variant under monitoring" to a more significant status of "variant of interest" on Wednesday. This change was prompted by its consistent and notable increase in prevalence worldwide.
Notably, the number of reported cases of EG.5 nearly doubled from mid-June through mid-July, as stated in the WHO situation report dated 3 August.
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