Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, Director of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura has said that the new Omicron BA.5 subvariant of COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the country.
Dr. Jeewandara said the world is experiencing one of the largest COVID waves of the pandemic, and it’s fueled by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.
The new BA.5 subvariant is the most contagious and most immune-evasive coronavirus strain and spreading at a faster rate than the variants reported so far, according to Dr. Jeewandara.
He said that this variant has spread throughout the country and if the health advice against Covid is not followed, there is a risk of the virus spreading further.
As the number of infected people increases, the hospitalizations will also likely keep going up and there is a risk of increasing the number of Covid deaths, he warned.
If the anti-Covid vaccines are taken and health instructions are followed properly, it is possible to protect oneself from the virus, Dr. Jeewandara said.
In July alone, 1,361 cases of Covid-19 and 35 deaths have been reported according to the Epidemiology Department.
