ESR confirmed it has sequenced New Zealand’s first case of Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 in a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
BQ1.1 was also detected in Te Waipounamu wastewater samples. The list of new subvariants appearing within New Zealand is lengthy and growing.
Many of these new subvariants are identified by their mutations, many of which are shared across several subvariants, but it can take weeks or months to determine whether these mutations will allow a subvariant to out-compete others circulating in the community.
At the early stage of a new variant being identified in New Zealand, it is difficult to predict whether and when it will become established in the community.