December 13, (THEWILL) – China on Monday reported its first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 amid a spike in coronavirus infections said to be a new Delta strain ”sub-lineage AY.4”.
The development prompted authorities to bar millions of people in the eastern province from traveling.
Authorities in the northern city of Tianjin confirmed the case of an individual who entered the country from an undisclosed overseas location.
Details on the person’s nationality or travel history were not immediately disclosed.
However, officials said the individual is an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient and its respiratory specimen has shown the existence of the Omicron variant after tests.
The person was under closed-loop management since entry to Tianjin and is now being treated in isolation.
China is experiencing a major outbreak of the Delta strain sub-lineage AY.4 in Zhejiang province where 138 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic carrier were reported between December 5 and 12.
Of the 138 cases, 44 were reported in Ningbo, 77 in Shaoxing, and 17 in the provincial capital of Hangzhou.
The whole-genome sequencing and analysis found that the cases in the three cities were caused by the Delta strain sub-lineage AY.4, which is stated to be more transmissible and carries a higher viral load than the original novel coronavirus, an official of the Zhejiang provincial center for disease control and prevention said.
Local authorities have imposed restrictions on public gatherings and traveling out of the province to prevent the virus from spreading further, it said. The province has a population of 64.6 million.
The Chinese mainland recorded 101 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 80 linked to local transmissions and 21 from overseas, according to National Health Commission (NHC) data released on Monday.
A total of 17 new asymptomatic cases were also recorded and 444 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation.
NHC on Monday reported 80 new Covid cases, including 74 in Zhejiang, five in Inner Mongolia, and one in Shaanxi provinces.
The spurt of coronavirus cases came ahead of the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, causing anxiety among the officials.
China, which has effectively curbed international travel, has been reporting sporadic spurt of cases, raising questions of its zero-case policy of coronavirus.
As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on mainland China reached 99,780 since the virus broke out in the central city of Wuhan in 2019. The death toll stands at 4,636.
While 1,381 patients, 27 in serious condition, are still under treatment, 93,763 have recovered so far, the NHC said.
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