The latest COVID-19 variant, the omicron sub-variant, known as BA.2, is 1.5 times more transmissible than the original omicron strain, according to Danish scientists, but just as mild. UK health say it has a “substantial” growth advantage over the original omicron VOC, known as BA.1. The mutation difference between BA.1 and BA.2 is greater than the difference between the original “wild strain” and the Alpha variant, where BA.2 has five unique mutations on a key part of the spike protein.
The BA.2 variant was first detected in the Philippines on January 20, 2022, and was soon detected around the world including Australia, around February 3, 2022. [1]
The WHO still considers BA.2 the same Omicron variant of concern.