A new Omicron variant that has caused multiple infections in Shaoguan, South China's Guangdong Province, has been identified as the subvariant BA.5.1.7. It's the first time the variant has been detected in the Chinese mainland.
According to the Shaoguan government, there have been a number of imported COVID-19 cases with multiple sources and multiple chains in the city, leading to successive positive cases in Shaoguan.
The latest flare-up in the city has two major transmission chains respectively caused by Omicron variants BA.5.1.7 and BF.7, both of which are highly infectious with fast spreading speed, a statement from the official social media account of the local people's government said on Sunday.
The subvariant BA.5.1.7 - discovered in more than 100 countries and regions - was detected in the mainland for the first time, said Li Shujian, deputy director of the local disease prevention and control center.
The highly contagious BA.5.1.7 caused several infections on the same transmission chain in Shaoguan during a dinner gathering on October 1, according to the local government.
