South Australia’s two new Covid variants explained

There’s early signs two new Covid variants are highly contagious and chief health officer Nicola Spurrier is “absolutely” concerned with the flu season upon us.

Two new Omicron Covid variants have been detected in South Australia, SA Health has announced.

In a late-night statement on Monday, SA Health said of samples reported last week, one case of the BA.4 and one case of the BA.5 variant were identified in the state, both from international travellers who had touched down in SA.

Professor Nicola Spurrier urged South Australians to get triple vaxxed to protect against the new variants, which she is watching “very closely” amid concerns of increased spread.

“We’re trying to understand what they mean in terms of the epidemiology,” Professor Spurrier said.

But Professor Spurrier said it was too early to tell if the new variants would mean the return of Covid restrictions or if the variants were more contagious than existing variants.

“We haven’t had enough time pass to be able to make any of those judgments,” she said.

“There’s some very preliminary information that there are some mutations on the spike protein of both those sub-variants that may give cause to being more transmissible ... but it is too early to say.”

Prof Spurrier said the last mutation which entered the state, BA 2, resulted in a new peak of infections, but she “didn’t know” whether that would happen with the two new variants.

“At the moment I would not be suggesting that we’re changing any of our current public health settings.”

“My understanding is that in South Africa, where these variants were first described, they haven’t changed any of their public health measures either.”

Professor Spurrier revealed there have been 898 recognised cases of reinfection, a rate of 0.22 per cent of total Covid cases. But the health chief warned that number was likely to increase over time as the number of primary infections rose.

“I’m a very positive person and I’m very grateful we’ve got vaccines ... and there’s no reason to believe that these vaccines shouldn’t cover BA 4 or BA 5, particularly around the hospitalisation and severity of this disease.”

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The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants are descendant lineages of the already transmissible Omicron strain of Covid.

Professor Spurrier warned that this year’s flu season was shaping up to be the worst since the pandemic began and urged for people to get their flu vaccine too.

“In 2021 we only had 40 cases of the flu ... whereas already we’ve had 187 cases,” Professor Spurrier said.

She said symtpoms they were regularly seeing in Covid patients but not in flu patients were loss of taste and smell as well as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

While Omicron strains are easier to catch, infection is commonly milder than the Delta strain.

A traveller returning from South Africa in the last week of March tested positive for the BA. 4 sub-variant which has been flagged by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

We’ve answered all your questions below.

Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier. NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Are the new strains concerning to health authorities?

SA’s chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said on Tuesday morning the new strains were being closely monitored but initial signs reveal the virus is not more dangerous than other strains.

“At the moment we’re just watching the epidemiology of the case numbers in South Africa and there’s no indication that these are more severe or more transmissible (variants),” Prof Spurrier told ABC Radio Adelaide.

How much more transmissible are the new variants?

University of South Australia epidemiologist Prof Adrian Esterman said the new strains are 25 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 Omicron strain.

“BA.4 and BA.5 now have a basic reproduction rate of 15, so they are as infectious a disease as we’re aware of,” Prof Esterman said.

A reproductive rate refers to the number of people someone with the virus infects before any immunity is accounted for in the community.

Vaccination may not be as effective against new strains of the coronavirus., the WHO warns. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Are the strains more serious than others?

The WHO has marked the new strains as “variants of interest”, not “variants of concern”.

“What we know is that, in for example South Africa where it’s (BA.4 and BA.5) starting to dominate, hospitalisations rates are very similar to BA.2,” Prof Esterman said.

Do I have to start QR checking in again or wearing a mask?

No, SA Health has not changed current Covid public health measures.

What can I do to protect myself?

Prof Esterman urged the community to wear masks in public again despite mandates being dropped in recent weeks.

Authorities are urging eligible South Australians to get a booster shot for added protection as the new strains take over.

Can I get a flu jab with the Covid jab?

Prof Spurrier said it was safe to get a flu jab and booster or Covid dose simultaneously.