Image source,Getty Images
Tianjin University conducted a nucleic acid test in the early morning of January 9.
The first batch of indigenous cases of Omicron in mainland China occurred in Tianjin. Local disease control officials said that the case has been transmitted for at least three generations, and there may be community transmission.
This round of Tianjin’s epidemic first occurred in the early morning of Saturday (January 8) with two confirmed cases of infection among the active patients. The local government screened key populations throughout the day on Saturday. As of 9pm that day, another 18 confirmed cases of the new crown virus were found among close contacts.
Tianjin is close to Beijing, the capital of China. In less than a month, Beijing will host the Winter Olympics. At the same time, China will usher in the Spring Festival, the most important festival of the year.
This winter, China is facing pressure from the rebound of the new crown epidemic. Henan’s daily increase in new cases reached double digits, and Shaanxi’s newly diagnosed cases once reached three digits. Although the number of cases is small compared to the 1 million confirmed daily in the United States , But under China’s “zero clearing” policy, some cities have been closed, and the people are facing inconvenience or troubles in life.
Multiple students in Tianjin and Henan were diagnosed
According to the information disclosed by the local government, the 20 cases of infections currently found in Tianjin include multiple students and their parents, and the track involves custody classes and multiple schools.
One of the first two confirmed cases was a 29-year-old staff member of a childcare institution, and the other was a 10-year-old elementary school student.
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On January 9, Tianjin citizens received nucleic acid testing.
Among the 18 people detected from their close contacts that day, 8 were students from Xianshuigu No. 7 Primary School, aged 9 or 10; 4 were students from Gaozhuangzi Primary School, aged 8 to 11; and two were students. A student at Xinzhuang Middle School, aged 12 or 13; the remaining 4 people are relatives of the above-mentioned students.
It is worth mentioning that on January 8, there were 4 students in the confirmed cases in Zhengzhou City and Xuchang City, Henan Province. They were from Zhengzhou No. 47 Middle School, Liangbei Central School, and Yuzhou City Bilingual Experimental School West Campus. . In addition, there is also a student among the confirmed patients in Luoyang.
Different from Henan and Shaanxi, the two first local cases in Tianjin were confirmed by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of which were infected with the Omi Keron variant, including the 18 cases discovered afterwards, all belonging to the same transmission chain.
However, the above-mentioned cases cannot be confirmed as the same chain of transmission as the sequence of the Omi Keron variant strains of imported overseas cases that have been discovered in Tianjin. This means that the specific source of the local cases found in Tianjin is still unknown.
Zhang Ying, deputy director of the Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated at a news conference on the prevention and control of the epidemic on January 8 that the first two cases had not been found to have a history of residence outside Tianjin. Through the circulation of these two cases, it was found that the nursery class where the adult case worked and the elementary school where the child was located had been epidemiologically related through other cases.
Zhang Ying introduced that from the relationship between the cases and the chain of transmission, 18 cases have been transmitted for at least three generations. Although this epidemic was only discovered early this morning, it may have been spreading in the community for some time.
Therefore, the authorities announced that from 7:00 on January 9th, all four districts in Tianjin will complete all-employee inspections within 24 hours; the remaining 12 districts will complete all-employee inspections within 24 hours from 7:00 on January 10th. Before the completion of the test, the residents “kept relatively still where they lived at the time.”
Can the vaccine protect against Omi Keron?
Image source,Reuters
People in Shanghai are walking on the street wearing protective masks. The governments of many places in China have called on the people to “Celebrate the New Year on the spot.”
Two years after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the widespread spread of the new variant Omi Keron not only failed to get out of the epidemic, but the number of confirmed cases even set a new record.
The United States reported a record 1 million new cases on January 3. The cases in the United Kingdom, France, and India are also increasing.
Faced with the threat of Ome Keron, different countries have completely different choices. British Prime Minister Johnson stated that they will not implement strict lockdown measures in the UK; US President Biden believes that despite the surge in infections, schools should continue to open; France President Macron warned that he intends to make life difficult for French people who have not been vaccinated against the new crown.
China has always adopted the most stringent “clearing” measures, but Omi Keron, which has a stronger spreading power, first appeared in the Chinese community, and the unexplored chain of community transmission has increased the pressure for “clearing”.
BBC Health and Science Correspondent James Gallagher said that if you are infected with Omi Keron, it is unlikely that you will be more serious than the previous variant. Studies around the world have consistently shown that Omi Keron is milder than Delta virus, reducing the chance of an infected person eventually being hospitalized by 30% to 70%. Omi Keron can cause cold-level symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, and headache.
Image source,Reuters
It is precisely because of this characteristic that some countries choose to directly bear the impact brought by Omi Keron.
However, Gallagher also said that this does not mean that it is gentle on everyone, and some people will still get seriously ill.
Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University in China, and director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, said in a recent forum that some self-media said that Omi Keron caused the “large flu”, which lacked scientific basis. In fact, this mutant strain “will bite.” A country and region needs a strong immune barrier and medical resources to resist the threat of Omi Keron.
Zhang Wenhong said that the reason why Western countries are “hardly fighting” this wave of epidemics is mainly from vaccines, and its effects need to be further evaluated.
He suggested that although the vaccine barrier does not completely prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, it has drastically reduced the virus’s toxicity and reduced the mortality rate of infected people. “We must see that the role of vaccines in the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic cannot be underestimated.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros said on January 6, “Omi Keron does not seem to be as serious as Delta, especially in the vaccinated population, but this does not mean that it should be said to be mild. “
Tedros added, “Like the previous mutant, Omi Keron is hospitalizing people and killing people.”
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