the XEC variant has taken the No. 2 spot — and is on the rise. XEC has mutations that make it highly contagious, but health authorities doubt it will lead to an increase in severe illness.

The new variant, called BA.2.86, was detected from a hospital test in late August, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced on Sept. 7. An offshoot of the BA.2 variant, which was a globally ...

1 and KP.2 accounting for over two-thirds of cases in Singapore. Globally, the predominant COVID-19 variants are still JN.1 and its sub-lineages, including KP.1 and KP.2. KP.1 and KP.2 belong to a ...