First case of Omicron XE detected in Czechia

The first case of XE, a more transmittable Covid-19 variant, has been detected in the Czech Republic, the State Institute of Health announced on Thursday. The sample was identified by the National Reference Laboratory.

According to information from the World Health Organization the XE strain could be about 10 percent more infectious than the original omicron variants. However, there is not enough information yet to assess whether it could become the new dominant variant in the future.

According to the State Institute of Health, the dominant coronavirus variant in the Czech Republic at the moment is the omicron subtype BA.2, which started spreading from Denmark in December last year.