Egypt confirms first cases of new coronavirus variant EG.5

STORY: Egypt confirms first cases of new coronavirus variant EG.5 DATELINE: Aug. 23, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:55 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: HEALTH SHOTLIST: 1. various of Egypt's Health Ministry headquarters in Cairo 2. various of hospitals in Egypt STORYLINE: Egypt reported Tuesday the country's first two cases of new coronavirus variant EG.5. Both cases show slight symptoms, the Ministry of Health said in a statement, recommending a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution. Test results from a monitoring system enrolled by 450 hospitals across Egypt for respiratory diseases confirmed the two cases, said the ministry. EG.5 is a sublineage of the omicron variant, and its first case was reported in February. On Aug. 9, the World Health Organization classified EG.5 as a "variant of interest." Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo. (XHTV)

Peru detects presence of Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5

STORY: Peru detects presence of Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 DATELINE: Jan. 17, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:54 LOCATION: Lima CATEGORY: HEALTH SHOTLIST: 1. various of medics working 2. various of street views in Peru 3. various of people receiving vaccines STORYLINE: The National Institute of Health in Peru detected three cases of Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 this week in Lima through genomic surveillance, as was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Sunday. Through a statement, the institution explained that the finding of the INS Genomic Surveillance Team "implies that there may be more related cases and there could be an increase of cases" of COVID-19 in the coming weeks. The new subvariant is a descendant of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of COVID-19, and it has been identified in 38 countries, the institute declared. The identification of the Omicron sublineage XBB.1.5 in the Peruvian capital comes at a time when the country is going through its fifth wave of infections, althou