#15,728
China, which based on their reporting, has managed to keep community spread of COVID remarkably well subdued, is understandably concerned over the introduction of the recently emerged, and more transmissible, COVID variants reported in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil.
Nine days ago, in CCDC Weekly: COVID-19 Variant 501Y.V2 Detected in Airplane Pilot — Guangdong Province, Jan 6th 2021, we looked at an early report of one such variant.
Today, as the number of COVID cases (n=103 15 imported, 88 domestic) reported by China exceeds 100 for the 7th day running, we have a report from Beijing on the detection of two cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, which appears to have originated in the UK.
(Translated)
Two confirmed cases in Daxing District The virus is a variant of the new coronavirus discovered in the UK. There is currently no evidence that it has an impact on the severity of the disease or the efficacy of the vaccine.
Healthy Beijing Today
On January 20, at the 215th press conference on the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Beijing, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, notified the whole genome sequencing of the virus samples related to the local clustered epidemic in Daxing District.
According to reports, on January 19, the Municipal Center for Disease Control conducted a whole genome sequencing and analysis of the new coronavirus samples from two local confirmed cases reported in Daxing District on January 17. The results suggest that the two cases of virus belong to the L genotype European family branch 1 (B.1.1.7), which is the same transmission chain. The virus has no genetic association with the previously reported local cases and imported cases in Beijing, and has no genetic association with recent local cases in other provinces in China, and is highly homologous to the new coronavirus variants found in the UK . After review by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the two confirmed cases of virus were considered to be variants of the new coronavirus discovered in the UK, and the source of infection was initially determined to be imported from abroad .
Pang Xinghuo said that the epidemiological association between subsequent cases in Daxing and other regions will be further investigated and demonstrated to clarify the intergenerational relationship between the cases. At present, the traceability of the local clustered epidemic situation in Daxing District is underway.
Jin Ronghua , the dean of Beijing Ditan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, reminded that the locally clustered new crown virus in Daxing District is a mutant strain discovered in the United Kingdom, and it is likely to be a recent overseas source. This mutation is related to enhanced transmission, coupled with poor indoor ventilation and easy gathering of people in winter, will cause the virus to spread more quickly. There is currently no evidence that the virus mutation has any effect on the severity of the disease or the efficacy of the vaccine . The clinical manifestations of our current patients in the hospital are not significantly different from those of previous patients. Although this mutated virus "can spread faster," the most effective personal protection measures are still wearing masks, washing hands frequently, frequent ventilation, and maintaining a safe social distance in work and life. If you have fever and upper respiratory tract symptoms, you should go to the nearest fever clinic.
Beijing's Municipal Health Commission is reporting 11 clustered cases in the past 24 hours.
Treatment of local clustered epidemic cases in Daxing District
Release Date: 2021-01-20
Source: Beijing Municipal Health Commission
As of 24:00 on January 19, Beijing Ditan Hospital had admitted and treated a total of 11 locally clustered epidemic-related cases in Daxing District, including 7 males and 4 females; the oldest was 64 years old, the youngest was 9 years old, and the average age was 40 years old. 10 were confirmed cases, 8 were ordinary, 2 were mild, and 1 was asymptomatic. The clinical symptoms of the 10 confirmed cases were: 3 cases had fever with cough, 2 cases had simple cough symptoms, 3 cases had throat discomfort, 1 case had nasal congestion, and 1 case had no obvious clinical symptoms, but the lung imaging was abnormal.
As a result, multiple news agencies are reporting that Beijing has enacted a partial lockdown (see Channel News Asia Partial lockdown in Beijing over COVID-19 outbreak) affecting 1.6 million residents.
In Jilin Province, more than 3 million people are in lockdown after more than 100 cases have been reported there in the past 3 days.
This sudden surge comes barely 3 weeks before China's Lunar New Year, traditionally the biggest travel season on earth.
Chunyun, or the Spring Festival travel season, begins about 15 days before the Lunar New Year (Feb 12th this year) and runs for about 40 days total, during which time more than 2 billion passenger journeys are normally made (mostly via crowded rail and bus) across Asia.
While public officials have been discouraging holiday travel this year, Reuters is reporting that Wang Xiuchun, an official at the transport ministry, stated in a press conference:
“We estimate that around 1.7 billion passenger trips will be made during the 2021 Lunar New Year travel season, averaging around 40 million per day. That would be a drop of 40% from 2019, but 10% more than last year’s season and two times current levels"
All of which could provide COVID plenty of opportunities to surge across China this spring.
Stay tuned.
