The Latest Breaking News from Omicron

The impact of the current surge in infections is not likely to become clear in the figures for a few more weeks, due to the time it takes for someone with the virus to become seriously ill

The latest wave is being driven by the newer variants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.

Some state premiers and chief health officers are calling on people to use masks in public indoor spaces

As Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 become dominant in Melbourne, the number of Victorians dying from COVID-19 continues to climb.

The latest variants are masters at evading immunity – meaning previous infection and vaccines are unlikely to provide much protection against catching it

Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave in the coming weeks, as BA.4 and BA.5 become the dominant COVID strains.

LOS ANGELES — In a sign of how the new coronavirus wave continues to spread across California, two-thirds of the state’s counties are now in the high COVID-19 community level, in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces.

Patient levels are now around two thirds of the peak reached during the Omicron BA.2 wave.

Two Omicron sub-variants are causing a sudden spike in Covid cases across the UK. Here are the symptoms of the BA.4 and BA.5 coronavirus sub-variants that you need to be aware of