Race on to study new mutations as Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 likely cause of 5,000 new SA Covid cases overnight

The number of coronavirus infections in South Africa jumped by 5,000 on Tuesday 26 April 2022, with a slight drop in the positivity rate to 18%. Experts say they believe sub-lineages of the Omicron variant are responsible for the current spike in cases. Now, the race is on for them to understand how BA.4 and BA.5 are evading immunity due to prior infection and vaccination.