Omicron subvariant: Virologist warns letting virus circulate freely 'dangerous'

As discussions continue over the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions another twist in the pandemic has emerged.

A fast spreading variant of omicron is believed to now account for more than 50 percent of coronavirus cases in Northern Ireland.

The subvariant BA.2 is not believed to be any more serious than previous variants, but its high transmissibility is causing concern.

Leading virologist, Professor Ultan Power from Queen’s University Belfast, told UTV that the idea of “allowing a virus to roam or circulate freely, especially a virus like omicron” is a “very dangerous thing to do at the minute.”

He added: “Omicron is increasing the frequency of infection and severe disease in kids. The levels of infection is still quite low but it is increasing. If this continues to increase we can’t exclude the possibility future variants will be even more severe for kids in the future.”

Dr David Simpson, an expert in Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University, said the subvariant is “increasing in prevalence and spreading across Northern Ireland."

He added: “There is no evidence to suggest it is any worse in terms of disease it causes.

"You can see its increasing in prevalence and spreading across Northern Ireland and it has increased over January to be about 25% a few weeks ago and we think that is up to about 50% now of omicron in Northern Ireland."

However, there is concern that the rapid spread of BA.2 could add further pressures on hospitals and schools.

The development of the subvariant can be tracked on a new dashboard developed by Queen’s University and the Public Health Agency, in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

• Queen's University dashboard: https://covid19variantsni.gis.qub.ac.uk/