New local Covid-19 outbreaks have been reported in several provinces in China and the first case of the Omicron variant in mainland China has been detected in an asymptomatic passenger arriving in Tianjin from abroad..
Zhejiang Province has reported 192 locally transmitted cases in Shaoxing, Ningbo and Hangzhou. Ten of the cases in Ningbo were related to a moxibustion therapy salon, while in Shaoxing, 18 were associated with a funeral. Eleven of the 18 were close relatives and seven were distant relatives or friends. More than 9.45 million people took nucleic acid tests. Some cities in the province have imposed restrictions on public activities as part of anti-epidemic measures. Public places, such as libraries, museums, internet cafes, and chess and card rooms, have been asked to limit visitors at 75% of their total capacity and register visitor information. Meanwhile, the city of Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia on the border with Russia has reported more than 498 locally transmitted confirmed cases in the latest resurgence of the epidemic. All of them are receiving treatment at a designated local hospital. The border city has launched 11 rounds of mass nucleic acid testing.
Experts called for an intensified effort to have elderly people vaccinated as the latest epidemic resurgence that started in Manzhouli has already affected four other provincial regions including Beijing. Some 50 million elderly people haven't received vaccines so far, accounting for 20% of the total number of people over 60 in China. Respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan said that 75.8% of the people in China have been fully vaccinated but to reach herd immunity the vaccination rate should reach 83%, thus the vaccination of seniors is essential.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) said in a statement that a U.S.-China travel fast-track program has been approved by relevant Chinese authorities and it was working to implement the program early next year. During the China-U.S. leaders' summit in November, China agreed to upgrade a fast-track arrangement to make it more convenient for the U.S. business community to travel to China. The purpose of the fast-track arrangement is to provide a more efficient, predictable and reliable channel for essential U.S. company executives, technical personnel and their family members to come to China. The program also ensures that those living in China who left the country for family or business reasons are eligible to return to China. To be eligible to apply for the fast-track program, travelers must be employees of a U.S.-registered company with a business license in China and a member of AmCham China, AmCham Shanghai or the USCBC. Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang told a dinner hosted by the USCBC in early December that China will cut to no more than 10 days the time required for approval of travel by U.S. business executives, and would work to make Covid-19 testing more convenient and allow executives to work during quarantine.
China authorities have approved the use of a monoclonal antibody cocktail created by Brii Biosciences for the treatment for Covid-19, making it the first antibody combination therapy against the disease to get the green light in the country. The treatment – a combination of the amubarvimab and romlusevimab antibodies, previously known as BRII-196 and BRII-198 – has been approved to treat mild and moderate cases with a high risk of progressing to hospitalization or death, according to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Since June, nearly 900 patients in China have undergone the treatment to quell local outbreaks from Liaoning to Guangdong province. Brii Biosciences has also filed an emergency use application for the medicine in the United States. The antibody cocktail was jointly developed by Brii Biosciences, Tsinghua University, and the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The therapy has a good safety profile and can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 80%. Rogers Luo, Brii Biosciences President and General Manager in China, called the antibody cocktail’s approval an “important milestone”.
Some Chinese cities have lowered the prices of Covid-19 nucleic acid tests at public hospitals, while some plan to do so soon, as part of the Chinese authorities' efforts to lower prices as new cases emerged in several places. The cities of Luoyang and Jiyuan in Henan province will cut the price to CNY30 for a single person and CNY10 per person for a group. Cities in Hainan and Sichuan provinces and Tianjin municipality have also reduced prices. Massive nucleic acid testing is a key tool to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic in China.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Global Times and Shanghai Daily.
