Press Release No. 08/2022 COVID-19: Flash survey ISS: 95.8% positive Omicron samples on 17 January

Iss 28 January 2022 - 

On 17 January, in Italy, the Omicron variant was predominant, with an estimated prevalence of 95.8%, and regional variability between 83.3% and 100%, while the Delta variant was 4.2% of the examined samples (range: 0% - 16.7%). These are the results of the flash survey carried out by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS  (Italian National Institute of Health) and the Ministry of Health, together with the regional laboratories and the Bruno Kessler Foundation.

For the investigation, the laboratories of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces were asked to select samples of positive cases and to sequence the genome of the virus. The requested specimen was selected by the Regions / Autonomous Provinces at random from among their positive samples, ensuring to the extent possible geographic coverage and representation of the different age groups. All the Regions / Autonomous Provinces and a total of 124 regional laboratories and the Military Health Laboratory participated in the survey, and 2,486 samples were sequenced.