A new strain of COVID-19, BA.2, is appearing in greater quantities in county wastewater samples, though coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are still declining in Contra Costa County, health officials told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
“The BA.2 is a subvariant of omicron and we’re still learning about it but, there’s some research suggesting that it’s more contagious than the original omicron that we had here, which was called BA.1,” county health officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli told the board.“Right now, COVID-19 transmission is down in our county, and we just came out of a surge, but we have some evidence that BA.2 is becoming more prevalent in our county,” Tzvieli said.
Deputy director of health Randy Sawyer told the board hospitalizations and new cases have continued to fall the past two weeks, but said “the declines have definitely slowed and are starting to flatten out.”4 Arrested, Including 2 Juveniles, Following Strong-Arm Robbery In San Francisco's Mission Bay
Tzvieli said nearly 81% of all county residents are fully vaccinated, but “we have some room for improvement on the booster; only 50.4% of those 12 and over have received a booster dose.”
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