China detects 275 new Covid-19 subvariants in a week

Over 270 Covid-19 subvariants have emerged in China within a week, the NTD reported, adding that the country’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention made the announcement last week.

On Saturday last, China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced that over 275 new Covid-19 subvariants were detected in the country within 7 days. The Epoch Times reported that the Chinese authorities have discovered these new sub-variants from April 14 to 20. The Chinese media reported that residents are posting their positive results online revealing that many are getting re-infected.

According to The Epoch Times, many residents are posting their positive virus test results online, pointing to a trend of reinfection. Now, concerns over possible mutations are front and centre.

In a social media post, an internet user shared that her husband and two children caught the virus once again. So far their symptoms are mild. In another post, the entire family was re-infected after 3 months they got tested positive once, as per The Epoch Times.

A prominent Chinese virologist gave his take on what is going on. He explained that if the virus were to mutate the reinfections will start happening about half a year later and usually on a limited scale.

“But if that mutation changed enough to break through the human immune system then the trend of reinfections could be enough to form a second wave,” he added, as per The Epoch Times.

Earlier on Tuesday, China said travellers entering the country are no longer required to show a negative PCR test for Covid. This came as another step toward reopening after a long period of pandemic-era isolation, The New York Times reported.

A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said, beginning April 29, people going to China can take an antigen test to replace the previously mandated PCR test within 48 hours before boarding their flight.

The spokeswoman, Mao Ning, added that airlines would not check test results before boarding. She did not say whether others, such as immigration officials, would check.

Notices by Chinese embassies overseas said that travellers arriving in China would still need to fill out a health declaration form and that customs officials would conduct unspecified spot checks, according to The New York Times.
China-based SHINE recently reported that New XBB COVID sub-variants had been reported in China. In the past week, there were 12 new sub-variants detected in China.

China from December 1 to April 20 reported 32,993 effective genomic sequences of domestic cases. All were confirmed as Omicron variants covering 117 sub-variants, with BA.5.2 and BF.7 as dominants, according to the weekly report issued by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

The centre detected 603 cases of variants under strict inspection, including the 12 sub-variants being found for the first time, according to SHINE.