'Kraken' Variant Is Now 80% Of NYC COVID Cases, Data Shows

NEW YORK CITY — The "Kraken" has been released all over New York City, new coronavirus data shows.

The XBB.1.5. omicron subvariant — unofficially dubbed the Kraken — is now the dominant form of COVID-19 in the city, account for 81 percent of cases in the week ending Jan. 8, according to city variant data.

"This subvariant is the most transmissible form of COVID-19 that we know of to date," the city's variant page states.

"It may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or previously had COVID-19 compared to prior variants."

But despite experts labeling XBB the "most transmissible" descendant yet of COVID-19 — as well as its ascendance atop the city's variant hierarchy — it appears not to have fueled a rapid increase of cases as omicron did a year ago, or at least not yet.

All of New York City's major coronavirus indicators are officially "decreasing" over the past seven days, according to the city's COVID-19 data page.

Positivity stood at 13.5 percent on average in the past week, data shows. The daily average of cases stood at 2,220, according to the data.