New highly transmissible subvariant confirmed to be ‘circulating’ in Australia

A highly transmissible Omicron subvariant wreaking havoc in the US has been detected in Australia, health authorities confirm.

An Omicron subvariant that has been tearing through parts of the United States was detected in Australia just before Christmas, health authorities have confirmed.

The highly transmissible XBB. 1.5 subvariant, which has been dubbed “The Kraken”, was detected in small numbers in the two weeks to December 24, NSW Health said on Thursday.

There is no evidence the subvariant causes more severe symptoms than the original Omicron Covid strain, but it is reportedly behind more than 40 per cent of new Covid cases in the US.

• There is still a highly mixed group of sub-variants circulating, the BR.2 sub variant is the most common. NSW Health continues to monitor emerging sub-variants including XBB.1.5, of which there have been a small number of detections in the two weeks to 24 December 2022.

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 5, 2023

Data from NSW Health’s two-week Covid summary released Thursday showed Covid cases had decreased 40 per cent in the week to December 31.

Positive cases amounted to 22,281 compared to 37,371 in the previous week to December 24.

The BR. 2 Omicron subvariant was the most common source of infection, but XBB. 1.5 had been detected, a statement said.

Infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy told Sky News existing vaccination levels and natural immunity meant the subvariant would not be a major risk to the community.

“Our vaccines probably do protect against it and we shouldn’t be overly concerned although I’ve called it ‘extra bad boy’ - it’s just a way of remembering the name XBB.1.5,” he said.

“It’s more transmissible, it’s more active, young and able to get around but it’s not more severe it’s not more virulent, it’s not more likely to put you in hospital.

Few shoppers chose to wear masks at Sydney’s busy Pitt Street Mall this week, as Australians enjoy a summer free of restrictions. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Cases and hospital admissions both fell around 40 per cent in NSW over the previous week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“NSW Health continues to monitor emerging sub-variants including XBB.1.5, of which there have been a small number of detections in the two weeks to 24 December 2022,” it read.

“The seven-day rolling average of daily hospital admissions decreased to an average of 113 admissions by the end of this week, compared with 141 admissions at the end of the previous week.”

While Covid cases had decreased 40 per cent on the previous week, PCR testing had also fallen by similar levels, authorities warned.

Stricter rules have been enforced on arrivals from China amid concern the soaring number of cases could lead to harmful new variants emerging. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

NSW Health urged people to get vaccinated against influenza, as infection rates in the northern hemisphere remained high.

“Flu activity is currently at low levels (in Australia) but shows signs of increasing with PCR positivity around one per cent for tests reported by the NSW sentinel laboratory network,” the department said.