Wellington: New Zealand on Sunday reported its first case of Omicron BA.5 variant. The person arrived in New Zealand from South Africa on April 26 and tested positive for Covid-19 on May 1, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
To date, BA.5 has been reported in Southern Africa, Europe and Australia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is monitoring the BA.5 variant and that vaccination remains effective against new sub-variants.
The Ministry of Health said: “At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing both BA.4 and BA.5 and no changes are required.”
“It can take weeks or months to assess the severity of each new variant or sub-variant, so the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the emerging evidence closely,” the health ministry said.
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