A new, highly infectious subvariant of omicron is worrying scientists as it spreads in India and other countries, including the U.S., the Associated Press reported. Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5. The news comes as the U.S. seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases remained mostly steady and deaths declined, but hospitalizations and the positivity rate for COVID tests keep on climbing to multi-month highs. The daily average for new cases stood at 107,533 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 5% from two weeks ago but still in the middle of a relatively narrow range that has lasted four the past couple months. The number of new cases reported is expected to be reduced by the Fourth of July holiday, the New York Times reported. Meanwhile, the daily average for hospitalizations rose to 37,472 on Sunday, up 18% in two weeks. And the positivity rate on COVID tests stands at 18%, the highest since Feb. 1. On the bright side, the daily average for deaths has fallen 7% from two weeks ago to 322. Globally, the confirmed case tally rose above 555.4 million on Monday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins, while the death toll is above 6.35 million with the U.S. leading the world with 88.6 million cases and 1.020,863 deaths.
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