New cases of COVID-19 are increasing nationwide, fueled by the Stratus variant, an emerging offshoot of the Omicron variant .

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), the national test positivity rate hit 9.9 percent in the past week, up 1.4 percent from last week.

CDC data show the sharpest increases are in the U.S. South, where test positivity rates in some states have hit 15 percent.

What is the Stratus variant?

The COVID-19 Stratus variant—also known as "XFG"—is a subvariant of Omicron.

Researchers believe that it emerged through recombination of earlier Omicron lineages, giving it mutations that may make it spread faster and evade immunity.

The World Health Organization ( WHO ) currently lists Stratus as a "variant under monitoring," meaning i

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