- Concerns about heavily mutated strains come as the number of New Yorkers hospitalized for COVID has leaped 64% this month, reaching 1,050 as of Friday.
- COVID cases per 100,000 population have also spiked 70%, with the average rate over seven days hitting 6.3 cases per 100K on Sunday.
Health officials in New York are hunting for a new COVID-19 variant that has raised alarms across the globe as the state braces for the recent uptick in infections to worsen.
The new variant BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola, has yet to be discovered in New York, but prior pandemic trends suggest it may soon surface as international travelers pass through the Empire State.
Officials have detected the strain in Israel, Denmark, and South Africa, as well as stateside in Michigan and Virginia. It was designated a Variant Under Monitoring by the World Health Organization and appears to be the most genetically different strain since the original Omicron variant.
These significant changes are important to note as mutations may allow the virus to evade prior immunity, New York health officials noted.
“While the public has returned to normal activities, the Department of Health remains vigilant for changes to the virus that could further threaten our public health,” state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said.
How bad is COVID in NY?
Concerns about heavily mutated strains come as the number of New Yorkers hospitalized for COVID has leaped 64% this month, reaching 1,050 as of Friday, state data show.
COVID cases per 100,000 population have also spiked 70%, with the average rate over seven days hitting 6.3 cases per 100,000 people on Sunday. But these case statistics continue to undercount infections because many cases go unreported.
Health alerts: Flesh-eating bacteria linked to NY death. What it is, and how to avoid it
Wastewater surveillance testing, however, shows moderate to high levels of COVID spreading in many of the population centers statewide.
Some of the highest levels include New York…
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