Millions Under Lockdown As Stealth Omicron Sweeps China, Cases Double In Less Than 24 Hours

First detected in South Africa, Omicron, the current 'Variant of Concern' (VOC) has mutated further to form a new sub-variant BA.2.

Stealth Omicron, also known as BA.2 variant is now dominant in China, the country which reported the first case of SARS-CoV2 causing COVID-19 virus infection, back in 2019. China is also the first country to adopt the 'zero COVID' strategy with strict lockdowns and stern restrictions, however, things look difficult as Omicron sublineage BA.2 picks up a fast-spreading pace in the country. With the enforcement of strict restrictions in various cities of China, calculations suggest that nearly 30 million people are currently under lockdown.

According to the latest reports, China logged 5,280 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, more than double the previous day's tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant BA.2 spreads rapidly across the country. The National Health Commission said 3,507 new locally spread cases had been identified in the latest 24-hour period, up from 1,337 a day earlier.

Nearly 30 Million Under Lockdown In China

The government report has revealed that almost 13 Chinese cities were under complete lockdown on Tuesday, and several other cities were partially closed. Among the other cities, the northeastern province of Jilin was the worst hit by the Omicron variant, accounting for more than 3,000 cases, according to the National Health Commission. The government report also stated that Tuesday was the sixth day in a row when China reported more than 1,000 new cases.

This comes a day after China implemented a complete lockdown in a city with 17 million people. Earlier the government had restricted all the activities in another city with 9 million people. Seeing the current COVID graph of China, the country which had the best formula for tackling the infection surge, it is evident that COVID is going to remain a part of the environment. However, this may get either triggered or slow down based on which COVID variant is spreading. Talking about the current dominant strain in China, the Stealth Omicron variant or BA.2 is a highly virulent strain. Let's know more about this sub-lineage.

Omicron Sub-Lineage BA.2 Spreading

Talking about the current surge in cases, experts have stated that the variant which is testing the 'zero-COVID' strategy of China, is highly contagious and capable of evading vaccine-induced immunity - Stealth Omicron or BA.2 Omicron sub-variant.

First detected in South Africa, Omicron, the current 'Variant of Concern' (VOC) has mutated further to form a new sub-variant BA.2. This new sub-lineage is suspected to have over 85 mutations which makes it a cause of concern. Apart from this, the Stealth Omicron is also missing certain "S" genes which makes it possible to evade the RT-PCR tests.

According to the experts, most of the new cases were in northeast China's Jilin province, where 2,601 were reported. Smaller outbreaks have broken out around the country, including in the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.