Shanghai Finds New Omicron COVID-19 Subvariant In Pudong: Residents Will Have Two Rounds Of COVID-19 Tests, More Infectious?

Illustration of a COVID-19 test in China. (Wikimedia Commons/Windmemories)

JAKARTA - The authorities of Shanghai, China found a case of COVID-19 involving the new subvariant Omicron BA.5.2.1, an official said in a Sunday statement, signaling complications China is facing to keep up with the new mutation as it pursues 'zero-COVID' rules.

The case, discovered in the Pudong financial district on July 8, is linked to a case from overseas, said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the city's health commission.

Shanghai, in eastern China, emerged from a lockdown that lasted about two months in early June, but continued to impose strict restrictions, locking buildings and complexes down as soon as new potential transmission chains emerged.

"Our city has recently continued to report more locally transmitted positive cases (COVID-19) and the risk of the epidemic spreading through the community remains very high," Zhao of the Shanghai health commission warned.

He said residents in some of Shanghai's main districts will undergo two rounds of COVID-19 testing, from July 12-14, in a bid to control a potential new outbreak.

The Omicron BA.5 variant, which is driving a new wave of COVID-19 infections overseas, was first discovered in China on May 13 in a 37-year-old male patient who flew to Shanghai from Uganda, according to the China Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The BA.5 variant has been shown to have a faster transmission rate and better immune capabilities, said Yuan Zhengan, a member of the city's expert advisory group on COVID prevention, speaking at a Sunday briefing. However, there is no information about the latest subvariant.

However, vaccination is still effective at preventing BA.5 from causing serious illness or death, he added.