According to the Indian Ministry of Health, Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 of the Omicron variant is causing the current outbreak in India, but the COVID-19 vaccines are still effective. Health experts say the outbreak will subside after 10 to 12 days.

The World Health Organization is monitoring the subvariant XBB.1.16 which has been identified in 20 countries. Most of the samples of XBB.1.16 are from India, where new cases have increased sharply in the past week, but are still far below the peak of the pandemic.