The southern city of Guangzhou reports China identified the second imported case of a heavily mutated Covid-19 variant on Tuesday after the first case was detected in the northern city of Tianjin.
The Guangdong case was identified amid plans in Hong Kong to open its border with the province this month for quarantine-free travel.
Guangzhou authorities said a 67-year-old man entered China on November 27 and repeatedly tested negative for Covid-19 during his 14 days in quarantine.
He flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou on flight CA1837 on December 11 in keeping with “closed loop management”, under which authorities arrange all transport and control quarantine measures to minimise contact between international arrivals and the public when they return home for self-isolation.
The man started home quarantine on December 12 and tested positive for the Omicron strain on December 13.
Professor Jin Dong-Yan, a molecular virologist with the University of Hong Kong, said it was still possible for China to keep the Omicron variant at bay, because it imposed a 21-day quarantine in most cities, while some even have 28 days of quarantine for international travellers.
But for the Guangzhou case, it was possible the patient was infected during the quarantine period in the designated facility, Jin said.
“It is also possible that the testing reagent is not sensitive enough because he tested negative during the first two weeks of quarantine,” he said, adding that it was less likely the variant had an unusually long incubation period.
Sources: South China Morning Post
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