Why new ‘highly infectious’ Omicron strains are China's new Covid challenge
Covid In China: China reported 1,878 cases on Sunday, the highest since August 20, as the week-long National Day holiday saw cases flare among returning travelers.
New Omicron sub-variants BF.7 and BA.5.1.7 have been detected in China amid the latest Covid uptick in the country. Both the sub-variants are said to be highly infectious with greater transmissibility. China reported 1,878 cases on Sunday, the highest since August 20, as the week-long National Day holiday saw cases flare among returning travelers. The cases have been attributed to the new Omicron sub-variants.
BF.7 subvariant which was first detected in northwest China spread to more Chinese provinces on Monday, reported Global Times while the subvariant BA.5.1.7 was detected in the Chinese mainland for the first time.
Cases since October 4 have spiked owing to the variant BF.7, Global times reported quoting officials.
"Judging from the characteristics of BF.7, if decisive prevention measures were not adopted in time, there is high possibility that it could become the dominate variant in China as well," reported the Global Times.
Read more: China holiday tourist trips fall 18% over the week-long National Day holiday
Earlier, the World Health Organization had also warned against the highly infectious BF.7 COVID subvariant expecting it to become a new dominant variant.
China has enforced strict zero-Covid measures to stamp out chains of transmission through border restrictions, mass testing, extensive quarantines, and snap lockdowns. But the policy has so far not been able to control the spread of the virus.
