Covid-19 scare grips China: What we know about new BF.7 Omicron variant?

Ever since the coronavirus emerged in 2020, several variants have been identified, with the Omicron that emerged late last year itself spawning sub-variants with varying intensities of infection. The latest such subvariant - BF.7 - has been detected in many countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France, and Denmark.

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It is also the main variant spreading in China, where easing (and in some cases completely removing) of restrictions has lead to massive surge in infections and concerns among the global community of renewed waves of the deadly virus across the world.

Five points about new Omicron sub-variant BF.7:

- The BF.7 - short for BA.5.2.1.7 - sub-lineage of the BA.5 Omicron variant is reportedly more infectious than others known so far.

- The variant is believed to transmit quicker and can even infect those who have been vaccinated.

- The variant is believed to have a reproduction number, or R, of 10 to 18.6 - which means a person infected with BF.7 is likely to transmit the virus to between 10 and 18.6 other people.

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- The symptoms are similar to other Omicron subvariants - fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea. The variant is likely to cause severe illness for those with weaker immune systems.

- China is seeing a massive surge in their daily cases due to BF.7. On Tuesday, China reported 3,049 new local cases.