The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is now the dominant COVID-19 variant in South Africa and has been detected in multiple other African countries, the head of the continent's top public health body said on Thursday.

"We have data from South Africa that the BA.2 lineage has now become the predominant variant in South Africa," said John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at a regular online media briefing.