Experts urge following current COVID-19 control measures to curb new Omicron variant

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health experts have stressed the importance of adhering to current COVID-19 prevention and control measures, as the Omicron BF.7 subvariant has recently been detected for the first time on the Chinese mainland.

Medical workers register information of residents for nucleic acid testing at a sampling site in Xiangfang District of Harbin City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 2, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

Dong Xiaoping, a virologist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the Omicron BF.7 subvariant, which was reported on Oct. 1 in Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has no obvious change in pathogenicity but shows strong transmission ability.

"Initial progress has been achieved in China's COVID-19 prevention and control work," said Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under the National Health Commission.

Liang noted that implementing the ninth set of COVID-19 containment protocols is of vital importance as the virus continues to evolve.