A new variant of Covid-19 that now accounts for almost one-fifth of cases in the United States is causing a small rise in hospitalisations, health officials have warned.
Officially known as EG5, the strain accounted for 17.3 per cent of American cases as of 5 August, up from 7.5 per cent in the first week of July and surpassing a number of Omicron descendants like XBB.1.16 (15.6 per cent of cases), XBB.2.23 (11.2 per cent) and XBB.1.5 (10.3 per cent).
