New XBB Covid sub-variants found in China: Report

Beijing, China: There have been reported new XBB COVID sub-variants in China. According to state-based SHINE, 12 new sub-variants have been found in China over the past week.

China reported 32,993 effective genomic sequences of domestic cases between December 1 and April 20. According to the weekly report released by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, all were identified as Omicron variations covering 117 sub-variants, with BA.5.2 and BF.7 acting as dominants.

According to SHINE, the centre found 603 instances of variants during a rigorous investigation, including the 12 sub-variants that were discovered for the first time.

In both the prior and weekly reports, a total of 42 cases of XBB.1.16 were reported. In the most recent report, which was released on April 15, the 15 cases of the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 were first recorded. The report for this week included the other cases.

According to SHINE, the highly transmissible sub-variant XBB.1.5 is still the predominant strain in the United States, but XBB.1.16, also known as “Arcturus,” has taken over in India.

The public shouldn’t be excessively alarmed, according to Chinese authorities, as XBB.1.16 is still very uncommon in the country.