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Two new omicron subvariants that have been spreading in New York and other U.S. states have now been detected in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Health in its variant report published Wednesday afternoon confirmed the presence of two descendants of BA.2 — BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1.
The omicron subvariant BA.2 now makes up about 87% of COVID variants circulating in Hawaii, according to the report, up from 70% two weeks ago. That estimated proportion also includes sublineages BA.2.12, which emerged in North America and Europe, and BA..2.12.1, which emerged in the U.S. and Canada.
Statewide, there were 25 cases of BA.2.12 detected in samples collected between Feb. 25 and April 15, and 19 cases of BA.2.12.1 detected in samples collected between March 21 and April 15.
Both BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 have been detected in samples from Honolulu County, and BA.2.12 has been detected in samples from Kauai and Hawaii counties. The two subvariants have not yet been detected in samples from Maui County.
In addition, the omicron subvariant XE that emerged from the United Kingdom — a combination of BA.1 and BA.2 — was detected in Hawaii in March. Only one case has been confirmed so far.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.2.12.1 was responsible for 29% of new COVID-19 infections across the U.S. last week and caused 58% of reported infections in the New York region, the Associated Press reported.