Large-scale "encounter" with Omicron - Focus on the six major focuses of the Tianjin epidemic

Following Shaanxi and Henan, Tianjin has become another focal area of ​​the epidemic, and it is also the first region in the country to encounter the Omicron variant on a large scale.

As of 14:00 on January 12, a total of 137 positive infections were reported in this round of epidemic in Tianjin, including 76 confirmed cases of local COVID-19, 17 local asymptomatic infections of the new coronavirus, and the other 44 initial positive cases are awaiting further verification.

Where is the source of this round of epidemic in Tianjin? What are the characteristics of Omicron's transmission? What are the local epidemic prevention measures?

Focus 1: How is the virus tracing progressing?

In December last year, Tianjin became the first city in China to detect the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus among inbound travelers. Nearly a month later, Omicron appeared again in Tianjin. Are there any connections between the two? Can we find the "patient zero" of this round of epidemic in Tianjin?

Zhang Ying, deputy director of the Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the two cases initially diagnosed on January 8 were not found to be related to imported cases from abroad, had not left Tianjin in the past 14 days, and had no history of travel to medium- and high-risk areas. Virus genome sequencing further confirmed that the two local cases belonged to the same transmission chain, but were different from those imported from abroad.

At present, Tianjin is working intensively to trace the source of the virus. Zhang Ying said that on the one hand, the possibility that the virus was directly imported from abroad to Tianjin cannot be completely ruled out. In addition to people, it is also possible that the virus was transmitted to Tianjin through objects and the environment. On the other hand, it is also possible that imported cases were introduced into Tianjin through other regions, and further investigation is being carried out around the clues.

On January 9, at the nucleic acid testing site of Zhongying Primary School in Gulou Street, Nankai District, Tianjin, staff scanned the QR code for residents to be tested using their mobile phones. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

Zhang Ying said that the Omicron virus has spread for at least three generations in Tianjin. What does this mean? "If we follow the old virus strains, one generation should be 5 to 7 days, and three generations is 15 to 21 days, which means that the virus has been spreading in Tianjin for some time." She said that during the epidemiological investigation, it was found that the source was very unclear and there was no way to quickly identify the source of the virus infection.

"This has brought unprecedented difficulties and challenges to both the source tracing and epidemiological investigation of this round of epidemic," said Zhang Ying. Experts said that it is even possible that when the source is found, the "patient zero" has stopped excreting toxins, which means that it cannot be found through nucleic acid testing.

Although the source is still unknown, it is gratifying that the transmission chain between the cases has been found to be relatively clear. Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that of the two initially confirmed cases, one was a staff member of a daycare institution and the other was a primary school student; and of the 18 new cases on the first day, 10 were students in the daycare class or their family members, and 8 were classmates of the primary school students, which are two relatively obvious transmission chains.

Focus 2: What are the characteristics of Omicron communication?

On January 8, a local Omicron infection was discovered in Tianjin. Starting at 7 a.m. the next day, Tianjin, a megacity with a population of about 14 million, began conducting nucleic acid tests on all residents. The reason for such a rapid action was to "race" against the spread of Omicron.

"The Omicron variant spreads very quickly, and it is possible that one generation will be transmitted in 2 to 3 days or 3 to 4 days." Gu Qing, deputy secretary-general of the Tianjin Municipal Government and director of the Municipal Health Commission, said that the purpose of full nucleic acid testing is to identify the potential risks of virus transmission.

On January 9, at a nucleic acid testing site in Tianjin Binhai Hi-tech Zone, staff members were taking nucleic acid samples from the public. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zishuo

Facts have proved the necessity of nucleic acid testing for all people. In the first round of large-scale screening, in addition to Jinnan District where the original positive cases were concentrated, three more districts were found to have positive cases, including three in Xiqing District, three in Hexi District, and one in Binhai New Area.

Zhang Boli said that the Omicron variant has 32 spike protein mutation sites, and its multiple mutations are the focus of research in the fields of the novel coronavirus's transmissibility, infectivity, and immune escape. At present, the Omicron variant has been rated as very high in the overall global risk assessment and has spread widely around the world.

Focus 3: What are the symptoms of infected people?

"The Omicron variant is indeed highly contagious, but the symptoms are not obvious and it is also highly hidden, making it more likely to spread or break out in multiple locations," said Zhang Boli. Many experts, scholars and clinicians stressed to reporters that although the initial symptoms of infection with Omicron are usually mild or even asymptomatic, it should not be taken lightly, and the understanding of it is still deepening at this stage.

The reporter found that among the positive cases reported in Tianjin so far, there were 17 asymptomatic cases. Zhang Boli believes that since the symptoms are generally mild or asymptomatic, patients are not proactive in seeking medical treatment, making it difficult to detect the virus in the first place.

The protective efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine has recently attracted widespread attention. Zhang Boli and Gu Qing both believe that the vaccine is still effective in preventing severe illness. Current studies have also shown that in the vaccinated population, the risk of Omicron causing severe illness or death appears to be low. Gu Qing emphasized that on the one hand, vaccination should still be strengthened to increase vaccine coverage, and on the other hand, personal protection should be done well.

Children account for a large proportion of the positive cases in Tianjin. Many experts believe that it is not yet proven that "children are susceptible to Omicron". The transmission chains found in this epidemic are concentrated in cram schools, schools, etc., which are accidental. Zhang Boli said that Tianjin attaches great importance to the treatment of confirmed children, and has invested experts to adopt a one-person-one-policy treatment method to help the children recover as soon as possible.

Focus 4: How to prevent the spillover of the epidemic?

As soon as this round of epidemic broke out, Tianjin took a responsible attitude to strengthen the management of leaving Tianjin, advocating that people should not leave Tianjin unless necessary. However, since the source of the epidemic is still unclear, prevention is indeed difficult.

According to Liu Daogang, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, Tianjin has deployed a total of 279 inspection points on expressways and ordinary roads to strictly check the negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours, the Tianjin departure certificate issued by the unit or street town, and the green health code of the people leaving Tianjin. Railway passenger stations have also begun strict inspections. The cross-city business of cruise cars, online car-hailing, and ride-sharing has been stopped.

With the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics imminent, some stations in Tianjin have taken control measures such as suspending operations and sales of trains into Beijing. All inter-provincial regular and inter-provincial chartered buses into Beijing have been suspended, and all channels have been strictly guarded. "I hope that Tianjin's strict control can ensure that the virus is 'eliminated' in Tianjin and ensure the smooth convening of the Beijing Winter Olympics," said Zhang Boli.

Facing the cunning Omicron, Zhang Boli stressed that we must strictly prevent the import of the virus from abroad, and we must prevent both people and objects, especially port cities and cold chain freight links, which are the key to curbing the spread of Omicron within the country. He also reminded that we should pay special attention to the student group, as it is the winter vacation for students and college students returning home, and they have extensive social contact and are at a higher risk of infection.

Focus 5: Are citizens’ supply guarantees in place?

In order to ensure the supply of daily necessities for the people in the lockdown area, Jinnan District has launched a supply guarantee mechanism for daily necessities, linking up with 38 large supermarkets, vegetable markets and wholesale markets near the lockdown and control areas. "The district's reserves of daily necessities can reach 3,000 tons," said Liu Yong, deputy director of the Jinnan District Commerce Bureau.

On January 10, near Linjin Garden, Xinzhuang Town, Jinnan District, Tianjin, Wumart Supermarket staff delivered daily necessities to residents. Xinhua News Agency

Li Hong, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce, said that in response to the sudden outbreak, Tianjin immediately activated the joint emergency response mechanism for the supply of people's lives, and mobilized large wholesale markets, supermarkets, vegetable markets and other market entities to organize the supply of goods in advance and strengthen stocking. At present, the supply of agricultural wholesale markets in Tianjin is sufficient, and the supply and demand of meat, eggs and vegetables remain basically balanced. The inventory of vegetables has increased from 2 days to 3 to 4 days, and the inventory of rice, flour and oil has increased from 20 days to 30 days.

On January 10, residents bought goods at Tianjin Wumart Supermarket (Huayuan Store). Xinhua News Agency

The Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce has also strengthened market monitoring, keeping track of the sales, prices and inventory of more than 240 companies producing daily necessities, and coordinated with market supervision departments to carry out publicity and reminders to market operators, and resolutely crack down on price gouging and malicious price increases.

In addition, Tianjin’s power business hall has adopted the policy of “come and go” and promotes “face-to-face” services based on the Internet; many hospitals in Tianjin, including Taixin, have launched online consultations, and prescription drugs can be mailed to homes; Tianjin Public Transport Group has mobilized vehicles to assist in the transfer of medical staff and quarantined citizens... All departments have taken action, and a series of heartwarming measures have “protected” people’s livelihood needs and provided escort for the entire nation’s fight against the epidemic.

Focus 6: Tianjin’s universities, colleges and primary and secondary schools will enter winter vacation from now on!

On January 12, Tianjin held the 166th COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control press conference. It was learned from the meeting that according to the development of the epidemic situation, Tianjin has made it clear that all universities, colleges and primary and secondary schools in the city will enter winter vacation from now on.

The scene of the press conference. Photo by Ma Cheng

On the one hand, the two education committees of Tianjin City quickly carried out the control of education and teaching activities, requiring all off-campus education and training institutions (subject and non-subject), vocational training institutions, adult training institutions, and custody service institutions in the city to suspend any form of offline training services and custody services, and suspend any form of offline teaching activities in schools of all levels and types, and require schools that have not organized final exams to postpone them to the beginning of the spring semester according to the epidemic situation. At the same time, the interview for the primary and secondary school teacher qualification examination was postponed. According to the development of the epidemic situation, on January 12, it was made clear that all primary and secondary schools in the city would enter the winter vacation from now on.

On the other hand, the two education committees of Tianjin City quickly implemented campus lockdown management. For all schools, closed management is implemented, and it is clear that no unrelated personnel outside the school are allowed to enter the school, and no students in the school are allowed to leave the school without approval. Anyone entering the school gate must verify their identity, test their body temperature, check their health code, travel code and vaccination code, and ensure that people in the school do not visit each other, gather in groups, or leave the school before the risk of infection is eliminated. Implement health monitoring of all teachers and students, establish a "daily report, zero report" system, and report in time if any teachers or students have suspected symptoms such as fever and dry cough, and urge them to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

At the same time, according to the "Tianjin Traffic Police" official account, in order to fully serve and safeguard the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control, and cooperate with the current nucleic acid testing of all personnel, with the approval of the Municipal Epidemic Prevention and Control Command, the Municipal Public Security Bureau decided to suspend the implementation of motor vehicle license plate restrictions and peak restrictions on motor vehicles with out-of-town and regional license plates from January 13, 2022.

Comprehensive sources: National Health Commission official website, Xinhua Viewpoint, CCTV News, Tianjin Traffic Police WeChat public account, etc.