The BA.5 Omicron sub-variant, now the dominant Coronavirus strain in the US, accounts for over 80 per cent of the new cases in the country, according to the latest data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The sub-variant accounted for 81.9 per cent of the new infections in the week ending July 23. Another new sub-variant, BA.4, accounted for 12.9 per cent of new infections, CDC data showed. The two contagious sub-variants now make up over 90 per cent of new infections in the US.