CDC: Omicron variant BA.2 spreading rapidly across New York and New Jersey
NEW YORK -- While some would like to think the coronavirus pandemic is behind us, a new form of the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading.
What's known as BA.2 -- a sub-lineage of Omicron -- now makes up nearly a quarter of new COVID infections nationwide.
The CDC says it's particularly a problem in New York and New Jersey, where 39% of the virus in circulation is BA.2.
It's also dominating new case worldwide, and some countries are facing a renewed surge of infects, just as they move to lift pandemic restrictions.
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While COVID cases have been declining recently, positivity rates in our area have been slowly on the rise.
On Sunday in the New York City region, the positivity rate was at 0.96. It moved up to 1.23 on Monday and 1.28 on Tuesday.
In Manhattan, the positivity rate was at 1.33 percent on Sunday, 1.67 on Monday and 1.73 on Tuesday.
