As Mask Mandates Fall, BA.2 ‘Stealth’ Omicron Cases Slowly Rise – By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder (US News) / February 23, 2022
The relaxing of mitigation measures like mask mandates paired with the spread of a highly transmissible subvariant threatens to prolong the latest wave of the coronavirus in the U.S.
After the omicron variant sent coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring during winter months, the metrics are all on the decline in the U.S., prompting state and local officials to relax mitigation measures.
But a subvariant of omicron that is even more transmissible than the lineage that caused the worst coronavirus surge the U.S. has ever seen is lurking, and experts warn it could prolong the latest wave as people are eager to drop their masks and move into a “new phase” of the pandemic.
Cases of BA.2, one of four omicron subvariants, are roughly doubling each week. It was responsible for nearly 4% of new coronavirus cases last week, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 2% of cases the week before and 1% the week before that.
