On July 12, federal health officials held a news conference focused on the newest COVID-19 wave. The surge in infection rates is coming from new subvariants to the COVID-19 omicron variant termed “BA.4” and “BA.5.” The variants were first detected in South Africa earlier this year and became the country’s dominant variant by May.

Health officials monitored the highly contagious variants as they swept through Europe in recent months. In just two weeks, known cases in Europe rose 70%, from 33 cases per day per 100,000 people to 57 cases per day per 100,000 people.