MoH still monitoring active COVID-19 cases, as variants emerge – Dr Anthony

The gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed, and preventative measures that had been implemented have now been relaxed, but authorities are still analysing new cases and variants for mutations and other concerning trends.
The BA.5 strain of the Omicron variant has been the most prevalent in circulation, and sequencing done in the United States shows that this variant accounts for almost 70 per cent of infections. However, in recent weeks, there has been a decline in the infections caused by BA5, and other types of variants are now emerging, such as BA 4.6, another subvariant of Omicron. Other variants being tracked are BA. 2.75 and BA. 2.75.2. In Southeast Asia and Europe, the predominant variant circulating is the XBB, causing three million cases daily.
In the latest COVID-19 update, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony assured that these trends are being monitored. “With the current numbers we’re seeing, it is really an underestimate. The good thing is that these variants are not causing a lot of hospitalisation, and that is a very positive thing…but we have to keep monitoring, because we don’t know which one of these subvariants can present with mutations that would cause even more severe hospitalization,” he explained.
BQ. 1.1 and BF.7 are also newer variants emerging, but they make up only a small percentage of detected cases.

Dr Anthony reiterated that these new subvariants tend to evade a person’s immune system. He explained, “These new subvariants, one of the challenges we have with them is that they tend to evade your immune system, and some of the monoclonal antibodies that have been produced are not effective against these new subvariants. So, in the past, companies have been able to develop monoclonal antibodies, so if you get infected they can give you these monoclonals to prevent or reduce the severity of infection. With these new emerging variants, one of the characteristics that scientists have noticed is that they evade our immune response, so we will have to monitor that and see what is going on.”
It has been observed by authorities that, due to the evolution of the disease to milder symptoms, many persons are not getting tested. It is recommended that a test be done when such symptoms arise, and where a home test is done, the positive result must be reported to authorities in order that they get to conduct the necessary contact tracing.
“This really is an underestimate of the cases that are occurring in the world right now. Because a lot of people may have a milder form, they’re not testing; and if they don’t test and it’s not reported, we wouldn’t know,” Dr Anthony has explained.
Meanwhile, statistics released by the Ministry on Saturday showed that only three positive cases have been detected within a 24h period. Two persons remain in institutional isolation, while 25 are confined to their homes. The death toll remains at 1281.