New Zealand reports its first case of Omicron BA.4 variant
Wellington (New Zealand), May 1: New Zealand reported its first case of Omicron BA.4 variant at the border amid 12,699 community cases during the weekend, informed the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
The BA.4 strain of Omicron has been confirmed in a person who travelled to New Zealand from another country. The government said in a statement that this is the first known detection of the variant in New Zealand. The BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12.2 sub-variants of Omicron have also been found in two returnees for the first time in New Zealand from travellers arriving in April, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, New Zealand reported 13 Covid-related deaths amid the new community cases in the past two days.
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In addition, there were 138 new infections of Covid-19 detected at the New Zealand border during the weekend, according to the ministry.
The country has recorded 933,464 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of the Coronavirus Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.
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-PTC News
