COPENHAGEN, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Denmark has detected the first case of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 thanks to its COVID-19 sequencing efforts, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

"Although the BA.2.75 subvariant has caused more infections in some countries than any other known variant, it is unknown whether it will be able to compete with BA. 5. (which is dominant) in Denmark," said the Health Ministry on Twitter.

"It is currently unknown whether BA.2.75 is more contagious than other variants and whether it evades immunity after infection and vaccination to a greater extent. It is also unclear whether the variant provides a more serious course," said the Ministry.

The case was discovered in a Dane who had returned from vacation in Greece, where he or she was most likely infected, Danish news agency Ritzau quoted Soren Alexandersen, professional director with the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) as saying.

According to Alexandersen, the new subvariant is more contagious than previous Omicron variants due to a number of mutations in the so-called Spike protein.

The SSI director did not deny the possibility of further infections of the new sub-variant in Denmark.

"If BA.2.75 gains ground in Denmark, we could see a new small peak here this summer."

BA.2.75 was first detected in India. There are fears that it may spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infections.

By July 12, Denmark had reported 3,199,299 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,530 coronavirus-related deaths.

With COVID-19 infections on the rise, Denmark has announced plans to provide a fourth vaccine dose this autumn to nearly 2.5 million people living in nursing homes or aged over 50. Enditem

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