The possibility of Beijing's first locally transmitted Omicron case being contracted from international mail cannot be ruled out, a local health official said Monday.
The patient received an item of mail on Jan. 11 delivered from Canada to Beijing via the United States and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She said that she touched the outside of the package and the first page of the document inside, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing's center for disease control and prevention, at a press conference.
Pang said they collected 22 environmental samples from the piece of international mail, and the nucleic acid tests all came back positive.
The patient had no travel history in other provinces or cities within 14 days before the onset of symptoms, nor did she have contact with risk groups.
Beijing reported another new locally-transmitted COVID-19 case on Monday after the first locally-transmitted Omicron case was reported Saturday, the municipal health commission said Tuesday.
The new case is confirmed to be a close contact with the first Omicron case in Beijing, said the commission.
The new case, who also lives in the Haidian District, was under medical observation in quarantine on Saturday and tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
The case has been transferred to a designated hospital for treatment.