Coronavirus: new variant expected in Cyprus soon says epidemiologist

A new subvariant of Omicron Covid virus is expected to arrive in Cyprus and precautions must be taken, epidemiologist Michalis Voniatis said on Monday.

Speaking on CyBC radio, Voniatis said the new BQ.1 subvariant was currently not causing serious illness, however, there was a possibility of it creating a new wave in the winter.

Cyprus currently – and for the past two months – has been witnessing a stable rate of 345-400 daily detected Covid cases, Voniatis said, and there is no imminent overwhelm of state medical services expected.

He added that the only weapon in the arsenal against BQ.1 for those at higher risk is to be fully vaccinated and follow personal hygiene practices such as handwashing, protection and distancing.

Although the mild BQ.1 sub-variant is related to the similarly mild Omicron variant, vaccination continues to save lives by preventing serious illness and hospitalisation, the epidemiologist said.

The subvariant seems to have originated in Asia and made its way to Europe by means of the US, and is already accounting for a growing number of cases in both the latter two. Asked how this happened, and whether it could be because Asian populations were not sufficiently vaccinated, Voniatis stated that this was an unknown.

“Whatever success we have achieved in Europe, was the result of vaccination,” Voniatis concluded.