Shanghai Finds No New Strains That Are More Infectious Than Omicron

(CTN News) – A municipal health official stated at a press briefing on Sunday that Shanghai has not detected stronger novel coronavirus variants in its latest outbreak of the pandemic.

Shanghai’s COVID Report

According to Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, Shanghai reported 215 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,760 asymptomatic ones on May 7, 2022. Out of the 215 locally confirmed cases, 80 were reported in areas under closed-loop management, and 135 were reclassified from asymptomatic cases as confirmed cases. Of the 3,760 domestic asymptomatic cases, 3,760 were reported in areas under closed-loop management, and 11 in risk groups relevant to the disease.

Related: Shanghai Reports 12 New COVID Deaths: As ‘Strict Lockdown’ Continues

During yesterday’s recovery, 941 locally confirmed cases in the city were released from the hospital and 9,839 asymptomatic cases were transferred to medical observation, Zhao said. The latter will be monitored in their residences. Also, as of 9 a.m. on May 8, 779,404 close contacts had been found in Shanghai, all of whom were put under quarantine.

According to the official, the main virus variant in Shanghai is still Omicron.

“Shanghai has been continuously conducting genetic analyses of the novel coronavirus samples, and results have shown that the genetic types of the virus present in the infected people reported in Shanghai are mostly Omicron BA.2 and BA.2.2 variants, and no new variant with increased infectivity has been identified,” said the director.

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