Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the city — the first on the Chinese mainland. The patient, who was asymptomatic, came from a European country, said Gu Qing, the head of the center.Gu declined to name the country. The person arrived on Dec 9.
Authorities identified the Omicron variant through genome sequencing of samples collected from the patient on Monday at a designated hospital.
The center confirmed that the infection was the Omicron variant B.1.1.529.
The case of Omicron variant detected in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, was an imported case flying back from Canada on November 27, authorities in Shanghai revealed on Wednesday.
The person received quarantine upon arrival in Shanghai. During the quarantine period, his four tests results were all negative and he showed no symptoms of fever, according to the local government of Shanghai on Wednesday in a release on specific travel routes of the case within Shanghai.
The case, a 67-year-old man, then returned to Guangzhou by flight CA1837 from Shanghai on December 11 and was detected to be infected with Omicron in Guangzhou while undergoing home quarantine in Guangzhou on Monday, Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission reported.
As a critical transit point of the Omicron-infected case, Shanghai took precautionary measures. A total of 799 people were screened and their tests results turned to be negative. Environmental testing samples were also negative.
On Wednesday, Central China's Henan Province reported one close contact of the Omicron-infected patient in Guangzhou. They were on the same flight when returning from Canada to Shanghai on November 27.
It is unknown how many people were in the same flight with the Omicron-infected patient in Guangzhou, and the status of the rest of the passengers is also not known.