COVID: ‘Stealth’ Omicron Found Near New York, May Be More Contagious

Health officials are now worried about what’s called "stealth" Omicron. It's a relative of the super-spreading variant, which was just detected very close to New York. Officials think it may be even more infections.

The latest COVID numbers in New York show COVID continues to be on the decline. On Wednesday, Gov. Katy Hochul reported 7.18 percent of COVID tests came back positive in the previous 24 hours.

The number of cases continues to decline in all regions of the state and there were 500 fewer New Yorkers hospitalized with COVID since the previous report.

"I am grateful for all the hard work New Yorkers have put in to bring infections down, but our fight is not over yet." Hochul said. "It is important that we continue to wear our masks and get vaccinated. For the parents hesitating to get their children vaccinated, thousands of young New Yorkers across the state have already gotten their shot - it is safe, free, widely available, and the best way to protect your children and keep them in school."

That's the good news. The bad news, health officials are now worried about a COVID Omicron sub-variant.

The first case of a COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant has been detected in Connecticut. The sub-variant is called "stealth" Omicron because it's harder to detect.

The Omicron variant led to a record number of COVID cases in New York State.

Health officials say the sub-variant, called BA.2, has the same roots as the highly contagious Omicron variant. It's not a new variant. Officials describe it as a relative of Omicron, also known as BA.1.

Experts believe "stealth" Omicron is potentially more infectious than Omicron, NBC reports.

The reported case of "stealth" Omicron was found in person from Fairfield County.

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