No new Omicron variants detected in Beijing by 2022 end: study

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- No novel COVID-19 variants were found in Beijing weeks after China optimized its epidemic response in November, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control sequenced 413 new samples obtained from the capital city from Nov. 14 to Dec. 20, including 350 local cases and 63 imported cases, according to the study published on Wednesday in the journal Lancet.

They found that the spread of Omicron variants, BF.7 and BA.5.2, has been dominant in the current outbreak since Nov. 14 in Beijing, accounting for 90 percent of local cases, and there is no evidence that novel variants emerged.

The dynamic of COVID-19 variants in Beijing can be considered a snapshot of the situation in China, the researchers said.

They, however, cautioned that the circulation of variants in China should be monitored continuously to detect novel variants of concern at the earliest opportunity.