BEIJING: At least three regions on the Chinese mainland have reported COVID-19 outbreaks involving the Omicron subvariant BF.7, increasing the pressure on local authorities in epidemic prevention and control.
The strain was first detected in an outbreak in Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in late September. In around 10 days since, the cities of Shaoguan, Guangdong province and Yantai, Shandong province had reported cases involving the subvariant.
A new round of mass nucleic acid testing was conducted in Hohhot on Monday, in an effort to control the sources of the infection and cut off transmission chains, local officials said.
“The current outbreak in Hohhot involves the Omicron subvariant BF.7, which is more infectious and transmissible,” Liu Yuanjun, an official with the city’s health commission, said at a news conference on Monday.
“In the face of the rapid development of the epidemic, nucleic acid testing is key. We can determine the epidemic situation by the number and distribution of infections after each screening and then scientifically arrange the mass testing and control measures.”
The region reported 119 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 559 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the region’s health commission said. It registered the mainland’s largest number of confirmed cases on Sunday.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
