Health Minister Magnus Heunicke confirmed that the new subvariant was now responsible for the majority of new Danish Covid cases in Twitter post on Tuesday afternoon.

The subvariant comprised 32 percent of confirmed cases nationally last week. That share has since increased to 59 percent.

“(BA. 5) appears to have a transmission advantage compared to other variants but there is still no sign that it causes more serious illness,” the minister wrote.

Grunden til stigning i smitte skyldes i høj grad, at BA.5 nu er den dominerende variant i Danmark. I uge 24 udgør den 59 pct. Den ser ud til at have en vækstfordel sammenlignet med øvrige varianter, men der er fortsat ikke tegn på, at den giver et mere alvorligt sygdomsforløb.

— Magnus Heunicke (@Heunicke) June 21, 2022

Health authorities earlier stated they expected BA. 5 to become the dominant subvariant in Denmark. It comprised under 1 percent of cases around a month ago.

The reproduction rate or R-number for Covid-19 in Denmark is now 1.1. A value over 1.0 indicates that the virus is spreading. If it is under 1.0, the epidemic is receding.

Last week saw the reproduction rate exceed 1.0 for the first time since February, with that now maintained for a second week.

The prevalence of Covid-19 in the community remains at a low level compared to the early months of 2022.

Heunicke has previously stated that there is “absolutely no question” of Covid-19 restrictions returning in Denmark during the summer.

A plan for managing a potential wave of cases in the autumn and winter is expected to be presented by the government prior to its summer break.

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