Tracing the spread of Omicron variant in China

SHINE
As of Saturday, locally transmitted cases attributable to the Omicron variant have been reported in eight regions or cities on China's mainland.
SHINE
Tracing the spread of Omicron variant in China
SHINE

As of Sundy, locally transmitted cases attributable to the Omicron variant have been reported in nine regions or cities on China's mainland since the latest resurgence of COVID-19 infections. Some of them belong to the same transmission chain. Here is a detailed look at the cases in each region.

Guangzhou

On December 14 last year, Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province, detected a COVID-19 case involving the Omicron coronavirus variant. The variant was found during the genome sequencing of samples collected from a 67-year-old man under home quarantine in the city. Over the following three days, three new infections were reported, all living in the same building as the elderly resident. No new cases have been reported since.

Tracing the spread of Omicron variant in China
CFP

Residents queue up for COVID-19 test in Tianjin on Saturday.

Tianjin

On January 8, Tianjin detected its first two locally transmitted confirmed cases attributable to the Omicron variant in the fresh resurgence that involved 20 people, all registered in the northern Chinese city's Jinnan District. The city neighboring Beijing has since conducted three rounds of citywide nucleic acid testing and by January 15, a total of 214 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases were found in the latest epidemic resurgence. Authorities didn't elaborate on how many of them were the Omicron variant.

Anyang

On January 10, two COVID-19 local infections in Anyang City, central China's Henan Province, were confirmed to have been caused by the Omicron variant, which has been classified as a member of Clade BA.1. The two patients were believed to be linked to the same transmission chain as the existing local cases in Tianjin's Jinnan District. The source of the COVID-19 infections in Anyang has been identified as a college student who returned to Tangyin County of Anyang from Jinnan District on December 28, 2021. As of Saturday, Anyang had reported 250 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, with officials not elaborating on the number of cases related to the Omicron variant.

Dalian

On January 12, Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, reported that two people had tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine nucleic acid testing. One of them was confirmed to be the Omicron variant. The two are college friends and arrived in Dalian from Jinnan District in Tianjin on January 9 on an overnight train. They had tested negative for the virus when they left Tianjin on January 8. Apart from the two infections, Dalian had reported no new infections as of Saturday.

Shanghai

On January 13, Shanghai reported two new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and three local asymptomatic cases. They were related to an imported asymptomatic COVID-19 case reported in the city on January 11. The genetic sequencing has confirmed the new cases were infected with the Omicron variant.

Zhongshan

On January 13, Zhongshan, another city in Guangdong Province, reported a local company employee had tested positive for COVID-19 during a nucleic acid testing. The female citizen, aged 24, is an employee in the city's Tanzhou Town. On January 15, one of her colleagues also tested positive during the screening of her close contacts. Both of them were caused by the Omicron variant. Apart from the two, the city had reported no other infections as of Saturday.

Zhuhai

On January 15, the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, also in Guangdong, reported one new locally transmitted COVID-19 case. It was a close contact of one Omicron variant case reported on Friday. As of Saturday, Zhuhai, neighboring Zhongshan, had registered two new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic carriers. These eight infections and the two in Zhongshan belong to the same transmission chain.

Beijing

On January 15, Beijing reported one new locally transmitted COVID-19 case. The case is confirmed to be an Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to local authorities. The carrier who lives and works in Haidian District twice underwent nucleic acid testing and tested positive both times. Two people who live together with the case have tested negative. Source tracing and screening work are now under way.

Shenzhen

On the night of January 16, China's southern city of Shenzhen reported two new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. One of them, a 21-year-old woman, was confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant. Source tracing is still underway. The other case, a 24-year-old woman, was confirmed to be the Delta variant. The case together with the other previously reported 15 cases belong to the same transmission chain, while the Omicron case is an independent one.


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