Emergence of a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariant BA.2.2 with a 454-Nucleotide Genomic Deletion-Sichuan Province,China,May 10,2022

On May 9,2022,3 local residents in Guang’an City,Sichuan Province,tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)and were diagnosed as asymptomatic infections with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in a local outbreak,and as of May 14,a total of 20 confirmed cases and 398 asymptomatic infections were reported.Whole genome sequencing was performed directly on the nasal and throat swab specimens from the initial three asymptomatic infected individuals using the Illumina MiSeq platform(Illumina,San Diego,CA,USA).The complete genome sequences of 3 SARSCoV-2 strains,named SC1215,SC1216,and SC1217,were obtained.The sequence of SC1217 has been deposited in the GISAID database(under the accession number EPI_ISL_12725020).