A 336-nucleotide in-frame deletion in ORF7a gene of SARS-CoV-2 identified in genomic surveillance by next-generation sequencing

•ORF7a deletions are found in SARS-CoV-2 genomes isolated worldwide.•ORF7a deletions are found to impact SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity.•The ORF7a∆336 reported here is currently the longest detected in-frame deletion.•Our findings show the necessity to submit raw sequencing reads in public databases.