Shedding light on Chinese mainland's first Omicron case
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 was detected in Tianjin, in north China, in a person who arrived from overseas, local health authorities said on Monday. It is the first known Omicron infection found on the Chinese mainland.
CCTV interviewed Gu Qing, director of the Tianjin Health Commission, about the issue on Tuesday.
Q: In which person was the Omicron variant found? How is the current health condition of the individual?
A: It is the first time for an Omicron variant to be detected on the Chinese mainland. It's from a person who traveled from Europe. The person's body temperature was normal upon entry into Tianjin. The person was then transmitted to a central quarantine location in Xiqing District. The person was sent to Haihe Hospital by ambulance as soon as testing positive for COVID-19 on December 9. The individual, an asymptomatic patient, has not shown symptoms of coughing and fever and is currently quarantined in the city's designated hospital.
A special zone for patients infected with the Omicron variant, treated by a special medical team, has been set up in order to prevent infections within hospitals.
Q: Were there any other infected people on the same flight? Will it spread further?
A: Medical staff will monitor the health conditions and nucleic acid testing results of people on the same flight within their 14-day quarantine period.
We will strengthen monitoring of the quarantine location and increase the frequency of disinfection. We haven't found any other infections so far based on nucleic acid test results.
Closed-loop management starts from the landing of a flight, including checks of health identification cards, body temperature, vaccination records, and epidemiological history. Anyone who has developed suspicious respiratory symptoms or fever will be transmitted to the quarantine hospitals by ambulance. Those who show no symptoms and have normal results on their health identification cards will not be transported by special bus to certain quarantine locations with each person quarantined in a single room.
Q: Tianjin is an important port city in China. What measures is the city taking to prevent imported cases?
A: Key areas, including airports, seaports, quarantine spots and hospitals, are what we pay most attention to. We check on any people entering Tianjin from overseas or other domestic regions with reports of COVID-19 cases, trying to detect any cases as soon as possible.
We are trying to develop an effective immune barrier to block the pandemic by vaccinating a wide range of people. By Monday, a total of 28.398 vaccine doses have been administered in Tianjin. About 94.9 percent of people aged above 12 have been vaccinated with their first doses, and 93.9 percent are fully vaccinated.
We have increased the frequency of nucleic acid testing for people working in key posts and high-risk industries.
Q: How can ordinary people prepare for the prevention of the Omicron variant?
A: The prevention measures stay nearly the same despite the fact that the virus keeps changing. People should coordinate with local departments to implement prevention and control measures. Once one develops respiratory symptoms or fever, one should not take any public transportation, go to the fever clinic as soon as possible, and report travel history from the past 14 days. People are also encouraged to get vaccinated. The pandemic prevention and control conditions can't be improved without the cooperation of everyone in society.
