Israel's Ministry of Health confirmed the detection of three cases of new Omicron sublineages of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Two cases of the Omicron sublineage BA.5, and one case of the sublineage BA.4, were discovered among returning passengers at the Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, the ministry said on Tuesday. Israel's first three BA.4 cases were detected among returning passengers at the airport on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The two new Omicron sublineages have been detected in Botswana, South Africa, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the UK, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Researchers were carrying out further investigations to fully understand the crucial traits of the two sublineages such as their infectivity and virulence, the WHO said in a press release on April 12.