MILAN (Reuters) – The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus is currently responsible for nearly all new Covid-19 infections in Italy, the National Institute of Health (ISS) said on Friday, pointing out that the strain accounts for nearly 96 % of cases, according to a survey carried out on January 17th.
The previous survey, from January 3, showed that Ômicron was responsible for 81% of the cases.
“In Italy, on January 17, the Ômicron variant was predominant, with an estimated prevalence of 95.8%, while Delta was in 4.2% of the sample tested,” the Institute said in a statement.
The analysis is based on 2,486 samples tested in 124 laboratories and collected in all 21 Italian regions and autonomous provinces, the Institute said.
Worldwide, according to this week’s report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ômicron variant accounts for 89.1% of cases, while Delta accounts for 10.7%.
Italy, the first western country to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, has seen new infections level off in recent days.
Italy reported 155,697 Covid-19-related cases on Thursday, down from 167,206 the day before, the health ministry said, while the death toll dropped from 426 to 389.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi)
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