COLORADO CORONAVIRUS: New data shows 30% of cases are stealth omicron

FILE – This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated from a patient, in a laboratory in Fort Detrick, Md. The coronavirus mutant widely known as stealth omicron is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases around the world. But scientists still don’t know how it could affect the future of the pandemic. (NIAID/NIH via AP, File)

by: Dara Bitler

Posted: Mar 30, 2022 / 06:56 AM MDT

Updated: Mar 30, 2022 / 06:56 AM MDT

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DENVER (KDVR) — The newest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows 30% of cases in the state are the stealth variant of omicron.

Data is delayed by two weeks due to the time required by the health department to complete genome sequencing of positive specimens. The latest data is from the week of March 13, according to CDPHE.

Over 69% of cases over the last two weeks were identified as BA.1, which is omicron.

The previous data on March 6 showed 100% of the cases in Colorado were BA.1, which is omicron, not BA.2, which is stealth omicron.

Earlier this month the World Health Organization said the BA.2 variant of omicron has become the dominant variant of the coronavirus around the world.

After weeks of declining COVID-19 cases in Colorado, several counties saw a rise in cases over the last seven days.

As of Monday, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was 3.33%, which is up from 2.56% seven days ago. Positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests to the total amount of tests taken.