(Reuters) -The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron and its sublineage BA.2.12.1 is estimated to make up more than 90% of the coronavirus variants in the United States as of April 16, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.
Overall cases have dropped sharply nationally since hitting record levels in January, but COVID-19 infections have been on the rise during the last few weeks, particularly in Northeast states like New York, and Connecticut.
A resurgence in COVID-19 cases in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the U.S, as has been the case with previous surges during the pandemic.
The seven-day moving average of U.S. COVID cases stood at 34,972 as of April 16, up 23.4% from a week earlier.
BA.2 made up 74.4% of the variants in the country for the week ending April 16, while BA.2.12.1 made up 19%, according to estimates from the CDC.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shailesh Kuber)
