Covid ‘Orthrus’ detected in Vic wastewater, shortly after RAT cases reporting scrapped

A concerning, mutant Covid strain dubbed “Orthrus” has been detected in Victoria, shortly after the Andrews government scrapped reporting of RATs.

A concerning new Covid strain dubbed “Orthrus” has been detected in Victorian wastewater, shortly after the Andrews government stopped recording RAT cases.

Omicron spawn CH. 1.1 takes its name “Orthrus” from Greek mythology, reportedly after a two-headed dog that guarded a giant’s castle.

The Victorian Department of Health on Friday reported Covid transmissions across the state continued to be driven by multiple Omicron recombinant XBB sublineages, accounting for 83 per cent of circulating variants detected in wastewater.

“This includes XBB. 1.16 (30 per cent), XBB. 1.5 (12 per cent), XBB. 1.9 (13 per cent), and other mixed XBB sublineages (29 per cent). Other variants include CH. 1.1 (five per cent),” it reported.

As a result of the Victorian government’s change to Covid case reporting from the start of this month, the department said there had been just 543 positive cases in the past week.

That compares to 3425 cases the week before RAT reports were scrapped and only PCR test results allowed to be reported.

However, Covid deaths and hospitalisations continue to be reported by the government each week, along with wastewater surveillance test results.

In the past week 39 Victorians have died of Covid, an average of six each day.

And 142 Covid patients are currently in Victorian hospitals, with eight in intensive care and four on ventilators.

Originally published as Covid ‘Orthrus’ detected in Vic wastewater, shortly after RAT cases reporting scrapped