China records more than 13,000 Covid infections with new omicron subtype
Cases are driven by new subtype, which has evolved from BA.1.1 branch of Omicron variant, according to state media
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Your support makes all the difference.China on Monday recorded more than 13,000 new cases of Covid-19 amid the discovery of a new subtype of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The subtype, found in a patient suffering mild symptoms, has reportedly evolved from the BA.1.1 branch of the Omicron variant.
This mutation of the Omicron variant doesn’t match other coronavirus variants that have wreaked havoc in China nor those found in international databases, state media Global Times reported, citing health authorities.
Authorities in China have sent more than 10,000 health workers, including 2,000 from the military, from around the country to Shanghai, as it scrambles to keep out the rapidly spreading outbreak under its zero-Covid strategy.
Shanghai reported about 9,000 new infections, while China's northeastern Jilin province recorded more than 3,500 cases on Monday.
Shanghai conducted mass testing of residents on Monday as it entered the second week of what authorities called a two-phase lockdown. Tests were done in batches of 10 people at a time.
Workers wearing blue protective gear were seen holding signs that said “keep one metre distance” and “do not crowd” as people lined up for testing in one part of western Shanghai.
Vice-premier Sun Chunlan arrived in Shanghai to oversee prevention efforts and ordered officials to restrict the Covid-19 outbreak “as soon as possible”.
The strict lockdown has led to fears of a shortage of food and limited facilities at makeshift isolation sites.
Some people who tested positive were asked to isolate themselves at home because of shortage of isolation beds or transportation to take them to a centre, according to local media.
Meanwhile, amid rising concerns over the separation of Covid-19 positive children from their parents, Shanghai health commission official Wu Qianyu said, “they are required to be kept apart if the child tests positive and the parent tests negative”.
If both test positive, the parent can stay with the child at an isolation site for children and receive treatment there, Ms Wu said at a news conference on Monday.
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