THAILAND has detected at least four potential cases of Covid-19 Omicron BA.2.2 subvariant.

Medical Sciences Department Director-General Dr Supakit Sirilak said the strain, first reported in Hong Kong, was found in one foreigner and three Thai nationals.

However, the cases are pending further confirmation, he added.

He urged the public to keep calm as the new strain is yet to be regarded as a variant of concern.

“At present, there is insufficient information to accurately assess the severity or transmissibility of the strain.

“It is too soon to conclude that BA.2.2 can spread faster or is more severe than other variants,” he was quoted as saying by Thai PBS.

Public Health Commission vice-chairman Dr Chalermchai Boonyaleephan yesterday urged the government to screen arrivals from Britain and Hong Kong amid concern over the subvariant.

Omicron is currently the dominant strain in Thailand, representing 99.6% of all Covid-19 cases in the country.

Omicron is spreading four times faster than Delta and has mutated into three subvariants: BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.

In the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 22,130 new Covid-19 cases and 69 deaths. – Bernama, March 14, 2022.