Governor J.B. Pritzker says state officials have been keeping an eye on the emerging new COVID-19 sub variant that’s surging in other parts of the world.
It’s led to China’s first recorded COVID-19 death in roughly a year, but Governor Pritzker indicated during a news conference on Monday that the so-called BA-2 strain of the Omicron variant has not threatened to overwhelm health systems in Illinois so far.
“It’s estimated that about 25 percent of current cases in Illinois are from that BA-2, Omicron variant and although that percentage has been steadily rising, we have not seen a commensurate increase in cases or hospitalizations,” Pritzker said to reporters.
Pritzker says the state has been preparing for another potential COVID wave ever since we got past the last one.
“We have more than one point five million rapid tests on hand with a half a million more on the way in the coming weeks.”
Pritzker also asked schools across the state to have a solid testing plan in place in the event the state experiences another surge in cases and hospitalizations.
Pritzker says the BA-2 sub-variant was first confirmed in Illionis back in January.
The Governor says it’s about 30 to 50 percent more transmissible than the original Omicron strain.
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