SIA is bringing the COVID-19 virus from China to Singapore

[LITTLEREDDOT]

No new variant has emerged from China’s Covid-19 outbreak, but it may be a matter of time: Experts​

Patients at a hospital in Beijing on Dec 27. Experts here say there is a high chance of new sub-variants emerging in China. PHOTO: REUTERS

Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent

Dec 29, 2022

SINGAPORE - The latest data out of China shows no new Covid-19 variant has emerged in spite of the large number of infections spreading throughout the country.
A Dec 28 statement from Gisaid, a global data science initiative, confirmed no new variants have yet emerged from the current outbreak in China.
It has been tracking and sharing changes in the coronavirus causing the Covid-19 pandemic, and has sequenced 14.4 million genomes from 215 countries.
“The 167 genomes submitted to Gisaid in the last four days provide a snapshot of the evolution of the Omicron variants and show that these most recently shared sequences from China are closely related to variants that have been circulating for some time,” said Gisaid.
Gisaid’s chief executive, Mr Peter Bogner, told The Straits Times: “It is encouraging to see the submitted genome sequence data coming from a range of provinces and time periods, adding to a representative snapshot of the variants currently circulating in China.”
The analysis was done in Singapore at A*Star’s Bioinformatics Institute (BII).
Associate Professor Hsu Liyang, an infectious diseases expert at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said 167 genomes from China “is too few, but more genomes might not yield different insights other than giving a clearer picture of which variants are circulating in which parts of China”.

But senior infectious diseases consultant Professor Paul Tambyah from the National University Hospital (NUH) felt they were somewhat reassuring.
He said: “It tells us that the current reported surge of cases in China is mainly due to strains which have been circulating in the rest of the world for the last few months without a major impact on the healthcare systems of any of the countries where they have been circulating.”
Experts here say there is a high chance of new sub-variants emerging in China given the large number of people getting infected. They also noted that it is not likely to matter.

Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, executive director of the BII, said: “Over the past three years, hundreds of short-lived variants have emerged with very little impact from the majority.”
He said the recent genomes from China are mostly the BA.5.2 and the BF.7, which fit the Asian pattern generally. “With global travel resuming, a more broadly synced lineage pattern would be expected,” he added.
Said Prof Hsu: “We would expect new variants globally as a matter of course. China with millions of people getting infected daily will add to the likelihood of such new variants and sub-variants arising, but should not be singled out as the sole or even the greatest risk of such an event.”
Prof Tambyah said: “There has not been a bona fide new variant since the Omicron variant emerged from South Africa (which has a considerably smaller population than China).
“The sub-variants of the Omicron variant have emerged from South Asia and other parts of the world, but none have been associated with surges of deaths even though there have been more infections.”

Some countries, such as the United States, India, Japan and Italy, have introduced health measures such as requiring Covid-19 tests, for visitors from China, fearing they could bring a new wave of infections to their shores.
Singapore has not done so, and that is the wisest course, said the experts.
Said Prof Hsu: “Singapore’s approach is rational. Taking a stricter stance against incoming travellers has done little more than briefly delay any potential new wave of Covid-19.”
Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, agreed: “Even if we have hundreds of infections from travellers from China a day, that is still very small compared to the number of local cases in previous waves.
“Once community transmission has already become widespread, the benefits of maintaining an isolationist policy are much reduced. Similarly, the countries rushing to erect barriers to Chinese travellers despite having had massive waves themselves of similar variants are most likely being unduly cautious.”
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at NUH, added: “Restricting visitors will appeal to some countries and some people, but while it may lessen a likely surge in mild cases here, I would not expect any surge to translate to many severe cases or a threatened healthcare system.”
He said there must be benefits from intervention. Implementing measures against travellers from China is both inconvenient and expensive, and will deter travel that in turn would prolong the impact on certain businesses.
“It’s very likely countries with large numbers of tourists from China will see a surge in cases to some degree,” Prof Fisher said, but for Singapore, “the high vaccination and booster rate together with the commonness of past infection makes local residents very resilient to severe disease”.

Prof Hsu added that vaccines remain effective at preventing severe diseases and deaths “with incremental efficacy, especially among the elderly, if at least one booster dose has been received”.
Today, 82 per cent of Singapore’s population has minimum vaccine protection, which means they have had at least three doses of an mRNA or Novavax vaccine or four doses of Sinovac vaccine.
Prof Cook said vaccination and prior infection can substantially reduce the severity of infections. “That is why the case fatality rate is about two in 10,000 infections over the past 28 days, which is exceptionally low even though we’re likely formally diagnosing a smaller fraction of infections than ever.”
But Prof Fisher felt it is important for “extra efforts in genomic surveillance in China and in all countries with capacity. We should only accept vaccinated travellers with necessary boosters.”
Mr Bogner, who feels the same way, said: “The need for consistency in genomic surveillance is key to avoid us flying blind.
“This need is certainly not limited to China but essential for many other countries where we would like to see a more consistent and representative genomic surveillance take place, not only for respiratory viruses but also climate-amplified diseases.”

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Will a China Covid-19 wave set back endemic living in Singapore?​

Despite immense efforts to strengthen the healthcare system, Singapore is not immune to future waves and should be careful not to clam up each time one approaches.​

Khoo Yoong Khean

A medical worker administers an IV drip treatment for a patient at the fever clinic of Beijing Chaoyang hospital on Dec 27, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 30, 2022

Just when the world has made progress in understanding and managing Covid-19, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) even hoping it would no longer be a global health emergency by 2023, a spanner has been thrown into these shifting gears.
China, the world’s most populous country and last one standing in holding fast to an indefinite zero-Covid strategy of suppression, announced it would lift several pandemic restrictions two weeks ago. It has since allowed people with mild symptoms to rest at home instead of requiring quarantine at a dedicated facility, reduced public testing and removed QR codes previously needed to enter public places.
And just like every other country that relaxed its rules, these sweeping moves have expectedly led to surges in infections, with one million daily cases estimated alone in the Zhejiang province.
With 1.4 billion people, China’s healthcare system will be tested in the coming months. China’s National Health Commission (NHC) has since stopped publishing daily Covid-19 data, announcing that the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will only publish relevant information for reference and research. As we will not know the number of new daily infections going forward, it will be hard to ascertain the true burden of the disease.
But given the nature of the virus and our highly globalised world, China’s high-impact decision could affect many parts of the world.

Will Singapore change its measures?​

Outside China, it has been a patchy and bumpy ride since 2020. Many nations have bought time during the 2020 lockdowns to fast-track vaccine development and procurement, shore up healthcare capacities and sensitise populations to the need for mitigating measures to be imposed from time to time.
Through a careful, phased approach, Singapore has navigated the pandemic with relatively minimal damage, emerging with one of the lowest mortality rates in the world from Covid-19 in September 2022. Omicron and its variants swept through the population over the past year, but the number of severe cases of infections has stayed low and our healthcare capacity remains protected.

Life has gradually returned to some semblance of pre-Covid-19 normalcy, with most mask mandates lifted and vaccination-differentiated measures removed. But is Singapore truly out of the woods? Or should we sound the alarm given the potential impact of the situation in China?
And most importantly, how prepared are we to face a potential new wave of infection?

Singapore’s healthcare system shored up​

Since 2020, we have taken advantage of each trough in the epidemiological waves of Covid-19 to strengthen our healthcare system, including general wards and intensive care units.


During the height of the pandemic, Singapore further expanded healthcare capacities by repurposing sites like the Singapore Expo and the F1 Pit Building at Marina Bay as community care facilities. Facilities like these supported up to 4,500 beds in total.
The development of Covid-19 vaccines was arguably the turning point in the pandemic. While the vaccines have been proven to be very safe and effective, constraints on global manufacturing capacity saw the rise of issues around accessibility and equity, with high-income countries accumulating a high number of doses early in the pandemic and leaving many other countries struggling to purchase them.
In the past two years, five pharmaceutical companies have committed to setting up vaccine manufacturing plants in Singapore, capable of producing one billion doses annually. Having these facilities will enable Singapore and neighbouring countries in the region to access vaccines much faster in the future.

The key limiting factor remains healthcare human resources, for which we must press on with investments and efforts to reduce growing attrition. They are the spine of our healthcare system and have gone above the call of duty to care for us.
Notwithstanding pay hikes of 5 per cent to 14 per cent for more than 56,000 healthcare workers, the global demand for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals has swelled since the pandemic began and competition for this scarce resource remains stiff.
Other strategies Singapore has implemented will supplement the healthcare workforce, including redeploying underemployed manpower elsewhere to serve as healthcare assistants, recruiting volunteers from SG Healthcare Corps and collaborating with private hospitals.
But the healthcare workforce is situated within a dynamic and changing landscape. Cost of living, distance from families and mental health issues such as burnout are some factors determining whether people stay or leave. Apart from reviewing remuneration and redistributing manpower, other measures to keep the attrition rate low are to continually provide opportunities for career progression to encourage more to permanently relocate here. Outreach services such as counselling and peer support programmes could shore up morale and provide mental health support.

Managing risks at national and individual levels​

Should Singapore close up or implement new restrictions in view of the worrying situation in China?
Compared with past waves, including those involving the Delta and Omicron variants, Singapore’s potential response to any future surge has also been strengthened owing to the incredible progress in the science around Covid-19.
The availability and uptake of vaccines have heightened population immunity, shielding us from severe illness and death. Extending vaccine coverage to children aged below five and, recently, rolling out the updated bivalent Covid-19 boosters have gone some way to offer stronger protections, especially against new variants with some immune evasive properties to the previous vaccines.
Constant reminders for people to keep up with booster shots have ensured that 82 per cent of the population have minimal protections and 62 per cent have up-to-date vaccinations. Post-infection immunity also plays a part in building up our collective immunity.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
S’poreans in China cheer lifting of zero-Covid curbs even as they keep an eye on rising infections
More Covid-19 infections and new wave expected with year-end travel, festivities: Ong Ye Kung
However, we know immunity levels wane naturally over time and our current level of coverage may not be enough, especially if there is a sudden spike in infection numbers. A high level of virus circulation among the population could overcome our population’s immunity if our vaccination coverage is not continually updated, which is why it is important for us to go for our booster shots.
Understanding the mechanics of transmission has allowed us to develop a robust testing strategy to close down infection clusters – including the dissemination of antigen rapid test kits to households, the decentralisation of polymerase chain reaction testing at many general practitioners’ clinics and pre-emptive sewage testing.
Masking, while not mandated in most settings now, remains highly used in Singapore with individuals exercising personal responsibility and has proven to be a simple and effective method of mitigating spread. Wearing masks in crowded spaces or if we are always in contact with the vulnerable population such as the elderly, the immunocompromised and children can help to protect them.
If necessary, public health interventions such as targeted testing and mandatory masking can be easily rolled out again in response to future health risks. In short, we have a toolkit of interventions we can pick and choose from if the situation changes.

The availability and uptake of vaccines have heightened population immunity, shielding people in Singapore from severe illness and death. PHOTO: ST FILE
As more people return to offices, smart investments like improving ventilation can stem virus transmission. Simple measures such as keeping operable windows and doors open and installing exhaust fans will increase air circulation.
In air-conditioned spaces, ventilation systems and filters should be continually cleaned and maintained. Portable high-efficiency particulate air filtration systems placed in high-risk areas such as meeting rooms or office pantries can help to decrease the risk of transmission. As a standard, it would be useful for all enclosed spaces to employ particulate matter and CO2 sensors to measure air quality and ventilation.
Maintaining flexible work arrangements and allowing hybrid work, while seen primarily through employee welfare lenses, can help our workforce cope with a surge in infection.

A balancing act​

Moving into the fourth year since the first Covid-19 outbreak, there is a balance we must strike between avoiding being alarmist, responding to every change in the situation and upkeeping caution, remaining ready to adapt and apply necessary measures only when needed.
This balance is never easy to strike. Decisions to impose public health interventions such as mandatory masking, crowd control and vaccination-differentiated measures will require a deep understanding of the evolving science, human behaviour and national trade-offs, as well as clear communication and transparency to preserve public trust.
This highlights the need to remain constantly vigilant and make decisions after carefully considering all the aspects of the pandemic. In the end, while many decisions are on an individual level, we must consider others in our actions to protect our community and population.
Still, the evolving situation in China once again demonstrates our interconnectedness in a globalised economy where local events can have a ripple effect globally. In Singapore, one such example of its effects is how more people are purchasing over-the-counter medicine in view of the outbreak there.
More recently, as news that more flights from Beijing to Singapore will be launched by Singapore Airlines, many Singaporeans are wondering what the implications are for Singapore and how Singapore could deal with a surge in cases.

The introduction of infection through cross-border travel and the potential emergence of new variants are some of the risks we face. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung cautioned in early December that the holiday period and increased travelling will lead to a surge in infections.
Surges in infection are inevitable, given the location of Singapore as an international hub, receiving travellers either for trade or tourism. However, we can mitigate the risk by continuing to monitor developments overseas and be steadfast in the knowledge that a surge in infections isn’t anything Singapore hasn’t weathered before, and we have a toolbox of measures and strategies that can be implemented if the situation develops enough to warrant this.
Implementing targeted pre-departure and arrival Covid-19 tests for inbound travellers if the risk of a sudden influx of Covid-19 positive patients is determined to be too high is one such example.
Countries cannot live in a bubble forever and close ourselves off each time there is a huge Covid-19 outbreak elsewhere around the world. This is where continual investments in new technology and interventions such as novel diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines will improve health security, not only in Singapore but also in the region and globally.
The situation in China will continue to evolve and depending on what transpires, we will have to adjust our response accordingly. Border closures are the first knee-jerk reaction many countries respond with to prevent the introduction of infection, but it will only delay this.
Closures also represent a nationalistic approach to a virus that does not care for nations and borders. The world is in this together as one and only by working collaboratively do we stand a chance against the relentless march of the virus.

• Dr Khoo Yoong Khean is scientific officer at the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Travel curbs over China’s Covid-19 surge ‘understandable’, says WHO head​

Travellers at the Beijing Capital International Airport, amid the Covid-19 outbreak in Beijing, on Dec 27, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 30, 2022

GENEVA – Restrictions that some countries have introduced in response to China’s Covid-19 surge are “understandable”, given the lack of information from Beijing, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged China to be more forthcoming on its pandemic situation.
His comments came as the United States joined several nations in imposing Covid–19 tests on travellers from China after Beijing dropped foreign travel curbs despite a surge in cases.
The European Union’s health agency said, however, that such measures were not warranted for the moment.
“In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the Covid-19 situation on the ground in China, WHO needs more detailed information,” Dr Tedros said on Twitter.
“In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations.
“We remain concerned about the evolving situation, and we continue encouraging China to track the Covid-19 virus and vaccinate the highest risk people.

“We continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system,” he said.
Hospitals across China have been overwhelmed by an explosion of infections following Beijing’s decision to lift strict rules that largely kept the virus at bay but tanked the economy and sparked widespread protests.
China said this week it would end mandatory quarantine on arrival, prompting many Chinese to make plans to travel abroad.
On Dec 21, Dr Tedros told journalists the WHO was concerned about increasing reports of severe diseases in China.
He called for detailed data on disease severity, hospital admissions and intensive care requirements.
China’s National Health Commission said last week it would no longer release an official daily Covid-19 death toll. AFP

 

[tobelightlight]

Wow, large infection spread throughout the country? How do they know? Based on a deceptive and fraudulent PCR test?

 

[blackmondy]

Do we really need these so-called experts to tell us the obvious?

 

[red amoeba]

Music to my ears. Pls impose lockdown on Singaporeans. We must keep leashed to allow CCPians free access to Singapore.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

How bad is China’s Covid-19 outbreak? It’s a scientific guessing game​

An analytics firm in Britain estimates that China could see some 1.7 million Covid-19 deaths by end-April. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 30, 2022

HONG KONG – As Covid-19 barrels through China, scientists around the world are searching for clues about an outbreak with sprawling consequences – for the health of hundreds of millions of Chinese people, the global economy and the future of the pandemic.
But in the absence of credible information from the Chinese government, it is a big scientific guessing game to determine the size and severity of the surge in the world’s most populous country.
In Hong Kong, one team of researchers pored over passenger data from five Beijing subway lines to determine the potential spread.
In Seattle, a group of modellers tried in vain to reverse-engineer an unverified government leak detailing case numbers from Chinese health officials.
In Britain, scientists are coming up with their own efficacy estimates of Chinese vaccines.
Any personal anecdote or social media report from China – scarce medicines, overrun hospitals, overflowing crematories – is possible fodder for researchers’ models.
They are all attempting to understand the same things: How quickly is the virus spreading in China? How many people are dying? Could China be the source of a new and dangerous variant?

As scientists sift through varied sources of shaky information, they are bracing for potentially catastrophic outcomes.
Barring new precautionary steps, some worst-case estimates suggest that Covid-19 could kill as many people in China in the next four months as it has Americans during the entire three-year pandemic.
Without satisfying answers, some countries are putting limits on Chinese travellers, albeit based in part on unfounded fears or political motivations.
The United States, Italy and Japan have said they will require a negative Covid-19 test for those coming from China, citing concerns that the surge in cases in China could produce new, more threatening variants.
While researchers and virus experts said the new measures would most likely do little, if anything, to blunt the spread, the policies reflect the limited visibility into the outbreak.

‘Nobody has a clue’​

Scientists’ models generally point to an explosive spread and a high death rate, given how many people in China have little to no immunity to Omicron subvariants. But even their estimates are all over the place.
In the bleakest of several scenarios of what the end of China’s zero-Covid policy might mean, nearly 1 million people could die during the early months of reopening, Hong Kong researchers reported in December in a study partly funded by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, though the study does not provide an exact time period.
An American group estimated as many as half a million deaths by April and another 1 million by the end of 2023 if China rejects social-distancing mandates.

The emergency department of Ganyu District People’s Hospital, amid the Covid-19 outbreak in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, on Dec 28. PHOTO: REUTERS
Airfinity, a Britain-based analytics company, this week offered an even more dire short-term forecast: 1.7 million Covid-19 deaths by the end of April.
Until December, the world seemed to have a reasonably clear understanding of what was happening with the virus in China. The ruling Communist Party proudly published low daily case numbers and deaths as a testament to its stringent zero-Covid policy. A countrywide system of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing largely kept the virus at bay.
But in early December, the government abruptly abandoned zero-Covid, leaving the scientific community largely in the dark.
“Nobody, nobody has a clue,” said Dr Siddharth Sridhar, a clinical virologist with a focus on emerging infectious diseases.

Many more may needlessly die​

Officially, China has claimed just 12 deaths from Covid-19 since Dec 1. The country has said it will only count those who die from respiratory failure directly linked to an infection, leaving out vast numbers who died because Covid-19 aggravated underlying diseases or caused heart or liver failure.
Experts say the sheer speed of the spread would suggest a much higher number of deaths.
There are also indications that officials are pressuring doctors and crematories to avoid categorising even respiratory deaths as virus related.
Several modellers have even been sceptical of leaked information from government officials on case counts, which have been used to assess the scale of China’s outbreak.
One recent estimate, making the rounds in news reports and on Chinese social media, cited data from national health officials that 250 million people had been infected in the first 20 days of December.
Some scientists said such massive figures indicated either that China has been suppressing data for months or that it is trying to make it seem like the outbreak has peaked.
“Either they know something we don’t, or they’re trying to say the worst is already over,” said Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. NYTIMES

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

South Korea to require Covid-19 tests for travellers from China​

It would also restrict issuing short-term visas for Chinese travellers until the end of January. PHOTO: AFP

Dec 30, 2022

SEOUL – South Korea said on Friday it will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China, joining the United States, Japan and other countries in taking new border measures after Beijing’s decision to lift its stringent zero-Covid policies.
South Korea would also restrict issuing short-term visas for Chinese nationals until the end of January and temporarily halt increasing flights from China while using Incheon International Airport as the only gateway for any flights from the neighbouring country, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said.
Effective Jan 5, travellers from China would be required to submit a negative result from a PCR test no more than 48 hours or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours before departure, and undergo another PCR test upon arrival starting from Jan 2, officials said.
South Korean authorities said the new restrictions were needed after Beijing stopped publishing daily data on cases, raising concerns over a new wave of infections and mutations.
While most of the new rules are set to be in place until the end of February, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said they could be extended.
“We need to urgently prepare for any domestic ripple effects following China’s easing of quarantine rules,” Mr Han said. “We will prepare to take stronger measures in case the situation gets worse, if we see a rapid increase of infections from new arrivals or appearance of new variants.”
China earlier in December began dismantling the world’s strictest Covid-19 measures in an abrupt change of policy, prompting countries and territories to impose or consider imposing curbs on travellers from China amid a surge in cases there. REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

China’s Covid-19 wave sparks scramble for vital drugs across region​

Ibuprofen, paracetamol and Pfizer Inc’s Paxlovid are among the most sought-after medicines in China. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Dec 30, 2022

BEIJING – A tsunami of coronavirus infections in China is causing shortages of key drugs across the region as relatives and friends living overseas ship painkillers and antivirals from abroad, driving up prices and forcing some stores to cap purchases.
South Korea’s health ministry warned on Wednesday that it would punish the sale of “excessive amounts” of cold medicine to an individual patient, after local media reported that a Chinese customer had bought 6 million won (S$6,400) worth of drugs in Hanam city in Gyeonggi Province. Some pharmacies in Taiwan are running low on Panadol cold and flu tablets, while Bloomberg News visited 20 dispensaries in Hong Kong that were out of Panadol and Coltalin pills.
Beijing’s decision to abruptly remove most pandemic restrictions with little preparation is driving an unprecedented number of cases, leaving hospitals and funeral homes overwhelmed. Almost 37 million people were possibly infected on a single day last week, according to estimates from the government’s top health authority. That has led to a dearth of critical over-the-counter medicines locally, fueling the surge in cross-border shipments.
Ms Shen Tsai-Ying, a pharmacist in Taipei, told Bloomberg News that Panadol was out of stock, and staff were instructed to refuse sales of more than 80 pills of antipyretics to help prevent stockpiling.
“We’re worried that Taiwanese people who work in China or have Chinese spouses will hoard and send antipyretics back,” Mr Huang Chin Shun, Chairman of the Taiwan Pharmacists Association, said in an interview Thursday.
Ibuprofen, paracetamol and Pfizer Inc’s Paxlovid are among the most sought-after medicines in China, but the supply crunch is forcing residents to queue up for hours outside stores. Delivery apps say orders could take weeks to arrive. E-commerce platform Meituan said its medicine service provider, starting Thursday, would include an option for pharmacies to help them sell paracetamol and ibuprofen in smaller lots.
Just like the Taipei pharmacy, other outlets in the region such as Singapore supermarket FairPrice and Hong Kong pharmacy chains Watsons and Mannings are responding to the buying spree by imposing purchase limits on Panadol and Nurofen. Some pharmacies in Japan are following suit, according to 27-year-old Tokyo resident Yichun Geng. She said she could buy only two boxes of the ibuprofen tablet EVE at one outlet to send to family in China.


Tokyo-based Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co, which makes over-the-counter cold remedy Pabron, said it’s seen an “unexpected, sudden increase” in demand after speculative Chinese social media posts saying the medicine eases Covid-19 symptoms. Taisho said in an email Thursday that none of the OTCs, including its own, is known to be effective against Covid-19, and advised customers to exercise caution.
Asahi Shimbun reported that the increase in demand for cold medicines is emptying out shelves of drugstores in Japan.
For those lucky enough to lay their hands on dwindling supplies, logistics is proving to be a hurdle.

Courier ShunXing Logistics in Singapore is placing caps on the number of Covid-related medical items people can mail due to a “manpower shortage and overcrowding,” it announced in a WeChat post last week. Some branches are allowing a maximum of 50 customers per day to send parcels containing Covid medicines.

People queue at the Shun Xing Express outlet in People’s Park Complex on Dec 23, 2022. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
The boom has also meant a windfall for some couriers and scalpers, with some charging as much as ten times the retail price for medicines.
Ms Wang, a Singapore-based Chinese energy broker who did not wish to disclose her full name owing to sensitivities in China, said one student on e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, had offered to deliver Panadol to Shandong province when he returned for the holidays, but for a fee of S$40 plus the drug’s cost of S$7-S$10 per box.

Another Singapore resident, who identified himself as Mr Xu, said his uncle in Shanghai had spent more than 1,000 yuan (S$193) on “bulk purchases of useless medicines” in a deal that included a box of the vital Nurofen tablets. “There’s high demand and low supply, so these shops think about making money,” he added.
In Hong Kong, staff at Mannings had put up signs under bare shelves reading “keep prices down”, next to notices informing customers that sales of cold, flu and pain relief products would be limited to two units per brand in a single transaction due to “a sudden surge in demand.” Watsons has capped Panadol purchases at six boxes.
A shop clerk at a dispensary in Mong Kok – a Hong Kong neighborhood – said he’d seen prices of Panadol Cold and Flu tablets, which usually retail at about HK$58 (S$10) to HK$71, shoot up to as high as HK$400 per pack. State-owned media Wen Wei Po reported Friday that one pharmacy had bumped up the price of Molnupiravir, a Covid antiviral, from HK$1,800 to HK$2,500 over two days.
The high prices and long wait times aren’t deterring those seeking to ride out the wave, which China’s National Health Commission predicts will peak during January.
“I am worried. There are elderly people at home, my grandfather and my grandmother,” said Ms Zhang, a Singapore resident who sent three boxes of Panadol to her family in Anhui. “It’s good to be prepared. They can still use them in the future.” BLOOMBERG

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Covid-19 travel curbs against Chinese visitors ‘discriminatory’, says state media​

Italy has ordered Covid-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China, where cases are surging. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 30, 2022

BEIJING – Chinese state-media said Covid-19 testing requirements imposed by several places around the world in response to a surging wave of infections were “discriminatory”, in the clearest pushback yet against restrictions that are slowing down its re-opening.
Having kept its borders all but shut for three years, imposing a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing, China abruptly reversed course toward living with the virus on Dec 7, and a wave of infections erupted across the country.
Some places have been taken aback by the scale of China’s outbreak and expressed scepticism over Beijing’s Covid-19 statistics, with the United States, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan imposing Covid-19 tests for travellers from China.
“The real intention is to sabotage China’s three years of Covid-19 control efforts and attack the country’s system,” state-run tabloid Global Times said in an article late on Thursday, calling the restrictions “unfounded” and “discriminatory”.
China will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine from Jan 8. But it will still demand a negative PCR test result within 48 hours before departure.
Italy on Thursday urged the rest of the European Union to follow its lead, but France, Germany and Portugal have said they saw no need for new restrictions, while Austria has stressed the economic benefits of Chinese tourists’ return to Europe.
Global spending by Chinese visitors was worth more than US$250 billion (S$336 billion) a year before the pandemic.
The US has raised concerns about potential mutations of the virus as it sweeps through the world’s most populous country, as well as over China’s data transparency.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is considering sampling wastewater from international aircraft to track any emerging new variants, the agency told Reuters.
China, a country of 1.4 billion people, reported one new Covid-19 death for Thursday, same as the day before - numbers which do not match the experience of other countries after they re-opened.

China’s official death toll of 5,247 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the US. Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million, has reported more than 11,000 deaths.
Britain-based health data firm Airfinity said on Thursday around 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from Covid-19. Cumulative deaths in China since Dec 1 have likely reached 100,000, with infections totalling 18.6 million, it said.
Airfinity expects China’s Covid-19 infections to reach their first peak on Jan 13, with 3.7 million cases a day.
China’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou said on Thursday that a team at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention plans to assess fatalities differently.

A line of cars waits to enter the Dongjiao funeral parlor and crematory in Beijing, China, on Dec 20, 2022 PHOTO: NYTIMES

The team will measure the difference between the number of deaths in the current wave of infections and the number of deaths expected had the epidemic never happened. By calculating the “excess mortality”, China will be able to work out what could have been potentially underestimated, Dr Wu said.
China has said it only counts deaths of Covid-19 patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as Covid-related.
The relatively low death count is also inconsistent with the surging demand reported by funeral parlours in several Chinese cities.
The lifting of restrictions, after widespread protests against them in November, has overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes across the country, with scenes of people on intravenous drips by the roadside and lines of hearses outside crematoria fuelling public concern.
Health experts say China has been caught ill-prepared by the abrupt U-turn in policies long championed by President Xi Jinping. In December, tenders put out by hospitals for key medical equipment such as ventilators and patient monitors were two to three times higher than in previous months, according to a Reuters review, suggesting hospitals across the country were scrambling to plug shortages.
The world’s second-largest economy is expected to slow down further in the near term as factory workers and shoppers fall ill. Some economists predict a strong bounce back from a low base next year, but concerns linger that some of the damage made by three years of restrictions could be long-term.

Consumers may need time to recover their confidence and spending appetite after losing income during lockdowns, while the private sector may have used its expansion funds to cover losses incurred due to the restrictions.
Heavily indebted China will also face slowing demand in its main export markets, while its massive property sector is licking its wounds after a series of defaults.
China’s factory activity most likely cooled in December as rising infections began to affect production lines, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Malaysia to screen arriving travellers for fever, test wastewater from China flights for Covid-19​

The additional precautionary measures were announced to deal with a potential upsurge of travellers from China. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Nadirah H. Rodzi
Malaysia Correspondent

Dec 30, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is beefing up surveillance at its international entry points by screening all travellers for fever and testing wastewater samples from aircraft coming from China amid the soaring number of Covid-19 cases there.
The Health Ministry said the wastewater samples will be sent to the National Public Health Laboratory for polymerase chain reaction testing before being dispatched for genome sequencing if the results are positive for Covid-19.
“All travellers arriving from abroad, including China, at the international entry points will undergo fever screening. Those who have been detected with fever, symptoms, or through self-declaration, will be referred to a quarantine centre or the health authorities for re-examination. In the event of suspected Covid-19, a test will be carried out,” Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa said on Friday.
“To improve detection of any new variants, all cases of influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections in healthcare facilities with a travel history to China in the last 14 days, or with any contact with individuals with a travel history to China in the last 14 days, will be tested with RTK-Ag (antigen rapid test kit) Covid-19 test and then genome sequencing if they are found positive with Covid-19,” she added.
The additional precautionary measures were announced to deal with a potential upsurge of travellers from China after the country recently reopened its border for international travel after almost three years of self-isolation, starting on Jan 8, 2023.
China’s border has been effectively closed since February 2020 as the country maintained a zero-Covid policy.
Based on official figures provided by the World Health Organisation, the ministry said there were 148,659 new Covid-19 infections and 442 new deaths in China from Dec 11 to 17.

Following China’s decision to reopen its borders, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Friday said Malaysia would see a spike in flight demand.
According to a report, Malaysia is one of the top 10 countries that Chinese nationals want to visit.
Malaysia’s tourism industry players on Thursday expressed eagerness in receiving visitors from China following the relaxation.

The Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) said Beijing’s decision to scrap quarantine for travellers and reopen its borders is expected to bring three million tourists to Malaysia, which would help boost the economy.
Mita president Uzaidi Udanis told reporters that “China is very important” because it has “big volume” and the Chinese are big spenders.
“This will be able to contribute good numbers for Malaysia’s economy,” he said, noting that the industry will comply with any health protocols as “good health means good business”.
Although industry players are expecting a million travellers from China in 2023, the soaring number of Covid-19 cases there and the increased risk of a new variant emerging have kept them wary.
The Malaysia Tourism Agency Association (Mata) on Thursday urged the government to temporarily suspend the entry of tourists from China until the daily cases of Covid-19 there drop.
“We are all aware that hospitals across China are facing explosions of Covid-19 cases following Beijing’s decision to withdraw its strict regulations,” Mata president Mohd Khalid Harun said, tempering optimism of a lift for the local tourism industry from China’s rule relaxation.
“The trauma faced by players in the tourism industry due to the Covid-19 outbreak has yet to be resolved; in fact, many travel agencies and hotels have been closed due to the virus, incurring billions of ringgit in losses in the past two years,” he added.
He advised industry players to shift their focus to tourists from the Middle East and Europe, without relying on visitors from China for now.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Tourists from China not a Covid-19 threat to S’pore’s population: Infectious diseases expert​

Singapore has maintained its prevailing Covid-19 rules for incoming travellers from China. PHOTO: ST FILE

Clara Chong

Dec 30, 2022

SINGAPORE – Travellers from China do not pose much of a Covid-19 threat to Singapore’s highly vaccinated and resilient population, though there might be a surge in mild cases if the country sees a significant influx of Chinese travellers.
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at National University Hospital (NUH), made these comments on Friday, as Singapore maintains its prevailing Covid-19 rules for incoming travellers from China, which plans to reopen its borders from Jan 8, 2023.
There are two possible areas of threat to Singapore, he added. One is the threat to Singapore residents, which is very low, and the other is to the Singapore health system.
“If travellers from China have the mindset that with a mild disease they will need to rush to the hospital, then that could be a problem. But I think that can be dealt with by giving them some instructions when they arrive,” Prof Fisher said.
Travellers who are not fully vaccinated, as defined by the World Health Organisation, must undergo pre-departure tests before they can enter Singapore. Short-term visitors are also required to buy insurance for Covid-19-related medical expenses.
China will resume issuing visas to its residents to travel overseas from Jan 8, loosening the country’s zero-Covid regime and ending almost three years of strict quarantine rules.
Prof Fisher does not think that there is a need to set up a testing regimen for asymptomatic travellers, given the costs and infrastructure needed for it, and that most travellers are likely to be vaccinated.

“Setting up testing facilities is not so straightforward and cheap, and we wouldn’t want to do it unless we were really confident that it was necessary. Testing won’t capture all the cases and many people will only turn Covid-19 positive a few days later anyway. Supervised isolation will also be difficult as hotels are back to business as usual,” he added.
When asked if there is a possibility that an entirely new Covid-19 variant might emerge, Prof Fisher said that the chances are low.
“Covid-19 has been ongoing for three years and, yes, we do see smaller mutations. But we do not see a sudden large shift in genetic material that comes from a completely different strain...
“The threats from new novel agents do emerge and our preparedness needs to remain strong. We know the drill. The first thing up if something serious happens will be our mask mandates,” he added.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Spain to require travellers from China test negative for Covid-19 or be fully vaccinated​

Spain also said it would coordinate with other member countries to adopt a common policy. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Dec 30, 2022

MADRID - People travelling from China to Spain will be required to test negative for Covid-19 or prove they have been fully vaccinated against the disease, Spain’s top health official said on Friday.
Earlier this month, China began dismantling the world’s strictest Covid-19 regime of lockdowns and extensive testing in an abrupt change of policy.
China also lifted most of its travel restrictions this week.
“At a national level, we will implement airport controls requiring all passengers coming from China to show a negative Covid-19 test or proof of a full vaccination course,” Health Minister Carolina Darias told reporters.
The new measure comes after the European Union’s Health Security Committee met on Thursday to discuss the bloc’s common strategy to mitigate the spread of the virus with the influx of visitors from China.
Ms Darias added that Spain would coordinate at a high level with other member countries to adopt a common policy, while pushing for a revision of the current conditions that need to be met by travellers seeking to obtain the EU’s so-called Digital Covid Certificate.
Countries such as Italy, South Korea, the United States, India and Japan have also imposed mandatory testing for visitors from China.

Chinese state media said on Friday the testing requirements imposed around the world in response to a surging wave of infections are “discriminatory”. REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

S’pore ready to step up border measures if needed, MOH monitoring situation as China reopens​

Non-fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore continue to require a pre-departure test within two days before departure. PHOTO: ST FILE

Clara Chong

Dec 30, 2022

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Health (MOH) stands ready to step up measures if necessary, closely monitoring the global Covid-19 situation even as China reopens its borders from Jan 8, 2023.
Non-fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore continue to require a pre-departure test within two days before departure.
Non-fully vaccinated short-term visitors must also have travel insurance with a minimum coverage of $30,000 for Covid-related medical expenses. All air and sea travellers must submit a health declaration upon arrival.
Despite some public concern about the high level of infections in China and announcements by other countries such as India, Italy and Japan of new testing requirements for all travellers from China, Singapore’s local situation has remained stable even after the XBB-variant wave, said MOH.
At this stage of the pandemic, the most important factor is Singapore’s population immunity.
MOH said: “We cannot completely stop infections, and indeed the virus has continued to circulate in our communities, but we can ensure that infections result in few cases of hospitalisations and severe illnesses.”
Singapore’s seven-day moving average of local Covid-19 cases is 729, the number of Covid-related hospitalisations remains below 100, and the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care remains in the single digits, MOH said.

Paediatric and bivalent vaccines are available to strengthen the nation’s already high immunity, it added.
With new Covid-19 treatment facilities and expanded transitional care facilities also available, Singapore is in a stronger position to live with the virus, becoming more resilient with each wave, MOH stressed.
However, the ministry remains vigilant, closely watching the global situation, especially with an increase in caseloads in many countries due to the uptick in international travel and onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

China, which is facing a large infection wave, is currently of particular concern.
First, there is the possible emergence of new and more dangerous variants, MOH said.
Singapore has been working with our international partners, including Gisaid, which maintains a pathogen genomics database, to monitor the variants circulating globally.

Singapore also conducts its own genomic surveillance on local and imported cases. So far, based on the sequencing results submitted by the Centres for Disease Control of various Chinese cities, the strains circulating in China are known ones, and no new variants with greater transmissibility or severity than previously identified sub-variants have been detected, MOH said.
The second concern is that travellers should not add significant burden to the hospitals.
At present, Singapore’s airport sees between 700 and 1,000 arrivals from China daily, or about 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent of total daily arrivals by air. The majority are residents and long-term pass holders returning to Singapore.
On a weekly basis, MOH has detected between 40 and 80 Covid-19 cases from among these travellers. All of them exhibited mild symptoms, except one returning Singaporean who had become severely ill after recent travel to China.
As air travel with China is progressively restored, MOH will take a cautious approach towards increasing seat capacity on planes, taking into account the overall public health assessment, the ministry said.

 

[laksaboy]

What's happening in China now could be something totally brand new, not Covid.

 

[laksaboy]

Tourists from China not a Covid-19 threat to S’pore’s population: Infectious diseases expert​

Singapore has maintained its prevailing Covid-19 rules for incoming travellers from China. PHOTO: ST FILE

Clara Chong

Dec 30, 2022

SINGAPORE – Travellers from China do not pose much of a Covid-19 threat to Singapore’s highly vaccinated and resilient population, though there might be a surge in mild cases if the country sees a significant influx of Chinese travellers.
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at National University Hospital (NUH), made these comments on Friday, as Singapore maintains its prevailing Covid-19 rules for incoming travellers from China, which plans to reopen its borders from Jan 8, 2023.
There are two possible areas of threat to Singapore, he added. One is the threat to Singapore residents, which is very low, and the other is to the Singapore health system.
“If travellers from China have the mindset that with a mild disease they will need to rush to the hospital, then that could be a problem. But I think that can be dealt with by giving them some instructions when they arrive,” Prof Fisher said.
Travellers who are not fully vaccinated, as defined by the World Health Organisation, must undergo pre-departure tests before they can enter Singapore. Short-term visitors are also required to buy insurance for Covid-19-related medical expenses.
China will resume issuing visas to its residents to travel overseas from Jan 8, loosening the country’s zero-Covid regime and ending almost three years of strict quarantine rules.
Prof Fisher does not think that there is a need to set up a testing regimen for asymptomatic travellers, given the costs and infrastructure needed for it, and that most travellers are likely to be vaccinated.

“Setting up testing facilities is not so straightforward and cheap, and we wouldn’t want to do it unless we were really confident that it was necessary. Testing won’t capture all the cases and many people will only turn Covid-19 positive a few days later anyway. Supervised isolation will also be difficult as hotels are back to business as usual,” he added.
When asked if there is a possibility that an entirely new Covid-19 variant might emerge, Prof Fisher said that the chances are low.
“Covid-19 has been ongoing for three years and, yes, we do see smaller mutations. But we do not see a sudden large shift in genetic material that comes from a completely different strain...
“The threats from new novel agents do emerge and our preparedness needs to remain strong. We know the drill. The first thing up if something serious happens will be our mask mandates,” he added.

LOL, it's Dale Fisher again.


https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-021-02117-y

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...s-urge-compliance-covid-19-cases-grow-1337691

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

UK, France to require negative Covid-19 tests for arrivals from China​

Passengers from China bound for Britain will not be allowed to board a flight without providing evidence of a negative test result. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 31, 2022

LONDON - The UK and France said on Friday that passengers arriving from China would require a negative Covid-19 test, following a surge in infections in China.
From Jan 5 in Britain, Chinese travellers will need to show a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than two days prior to departure, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement.
Separately, France said travellers from China would need to provide a negative Covid-19 test result less than 48 hours before departure, and that travellers on planes arriving from China would also have to wear masks.
France did not set a start date for the measures but will publish a government decree and notify European Union member states.
From Jan 1, France will also carry out random PCR Covid-19 tests upon arrival on some travellers coming from China, a government official told reporters.
The moves come after doubts over the transparency of official data from Beijing raised concerns about a wave of infections.
Britain said airlines will be required to check all passengers from China for tests, and passengers will not be allowed to board a flight without providing evidence of a negative test result.

Britain and France join other countries, including the United States and India, to impose Covid-19 tests for travellers from China.
South Korea and Spain have also done so.

Britain’s Times and Telegraph newspapers on Friday reported that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had weighed in to take the step.
The BBC had earlier reported that the UK government was set to announce the China arrival policy, without providing a specific time.
UK officials had said on Thursday that the government was reviewing whether to impose restrictions on people arriving from China.
Chinese state media on Friday called the imposition of Covid-19 tests by various countries on travellers arriving from China “discriminatory”.
China has rejected criticism of its Covid-19 statistics and said it expects mutations to be more infectious but less severe. REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: Better to err on the side of caution on travellers from China​

Dec 31, 2022

I read with apprehension Singapore’s decision to maintain the status quo on Covid-19 measures for travellers from China (No change in S’pore’s Covid-19 measures for travellers from China, Dec 29).
This feeling, which is shared by many, is due to the uncertainty over the true scale of China’s infection as well as the speed with which China moved from a strict zero-Covid policy to an extensive reopening of its borders.
Over the last three years, our nation has sacrificed a lot on both the social and economic fronts to arrive at where we are today. It would be a pity if, for any reason, we have to re-impose circuit breaker measures.
While the Ministry of Health has given assurances that it is monitoring the international Covid-19 situation and will adjust its border health measures should the need arise, I appeal to the authorities to place more emphasis on pre-emptive rather than corrective measures. Given the lethality of the coronavirus and its sub-variants, it would not be too costly to err on the side of caution, as countries such as Japan, Italy and the United States are doing.

Karen Yip Lai Kham

 

[SHIB]

China virus is coming again, Huat ah

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Covid-19 mutation risk drives rush to test travellers from China​

1 of 2

Travellers arriving from China line up for Covid-19 testing in Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, on Dec 29, 2022. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Jan 1, 2023

BEIJING – Covid-19 testing requirements for passengers travelling from China highlight mounting concerns about the potential for undetected new strains of the virus spawned by the country’s burgeoning outbreak.
When the US imposed requirements for travellers from China to show negative test results, it also expanded a programme that collects voluntary samples from international passengers at airports to help monitor variants entering the country. On Saturday, Canada said travellers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will need to produce a negative Covid-19 test, while Morocco went even further with a ban on visitors from China.
The latest restrictions come after Britain and France on Friday joined the rush of countries testing passengers and sequencing samples from people arriving from China in an effort to identify any dangerous new mutations that could spread rapidly through their populations.
The scenario echoes the pandemic’s early days, when China was criticised for not releasing key genetic data on the virus until weeks after news of the new illness became public.
The country’s health officials have said that sentinel hospitals are monitoring mutations in samples taken from patients in emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. However, most of that data hasn’t yet been shared internationally, health experts say.
“In the absence of comprehensive information from #China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations,” World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter. The global health group needs more detailed information from China in order to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, he said.
Representatives from China’s National Health Commission and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration briefed WHO officials on Friday on their strategy and actions to battle the outbreak.
“WHO again asked for regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation – including more genetic sequencing data, data on disease impact including hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths,” the organisation said in a statement. WHO officials stressed the “importance of monitoring and the timely publication of data to help China and the global community to formulate accurate risk assessments and to inform effective responses”.
Whether China’s outbreak has had any impact on Covid-19 trends in the US isn’t clear, according to Ms Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson for the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. But the agency is closely monitoring the situation, she said on Friday in an email.
“With China’s lack of population immunity against Covid-19 there is the possibility that a new variant of concern could emerge,” Ms Nordlund said.

Business as usual​

Officials at GISAID, the consortium tracking Covid-19 mutations, said they’re reassured by a spurt of recent submissions from China. The group has received nearly 1,000 genetic sequences in the past week from across the country, provided by provincial health authorities and private health-care facilities.
“The variants continue to circulate without any significant changes that raise any specter of concern,” said Mr Peter Bogner, GISAID’s founder. “You do not have any kind of data that suggest anything but business as usual.”
In other parts of the world outside China where the virus is spreading rapidly, sequencing efforts that could identify new variants are falling off, Bogner said. Chinese health officials say that they’ve promptly shared sequencing data with the WHO.
“There’s nothing we have kept to ourselves,” Dr Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said last Thursday. “All of our sequencing work has been shared with the whole world.”

A passenger from Beijing leaves the terminal after landing at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport in Barajas, Madrid, on Dec 31, 2022. PHOTO: AFP
Nine Omicron subvariants are dominating in the country’s outbreak, Dr Wu said. Limited sequencing data shared publicly show that the variants are largely the same as strains found elsewhere in the world, such as BF.7 and BA.5.2, according to the data analytics firm Airfinity, and there’s no evidence yet that a new variant of concern has emerged. But it may only be a matter of time and with limited information being shared, it’s difficult for the rest of the world to prepare, experts say.
“The situation in China makes us very worried,” said Dr Wilbur Lam, who runs the US National Institutes of Health’s RADx Tech Testing Validation Core out of his labs at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. New requirements for travellers from China to show a negative test no more than two days before flying to the US aren’t “a perfect policy measure”, he said.
Viruses like Covid-19 are able to mutate each time they reproduce. Sometimes the mutations are insignificant, or even prevent the virus from growing. But in rare cases, new mutations can grant advantages that allow particular strains to spread quickly.

Travellers arriving from China line up for Covid-19 testing in Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, on Dec 29, 2022. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Keeping up with viral evolution has posed difficult challenges for drugmakers. For example, updated booster shots from Moderna and the partnership of Pfizer and BioNTech SE were designed to target early omicron variants B4 and B5. During the time those shots were developed, however, those variants were replaced by faster-spreading BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants.
In recent weeks, another variant called XBB has picked up steam. Health experts are worried that these strains may be better able to evade immune protection from vaccines and prior infections, and perhaps give rise to offspring that are even more elusive.

‘Serious threats’​

The BQ and XBB subvariants of omicron “present serious threats to current Covid-19 vaccines, render inactive all authorized antibodies, and may have gained dominance in the population because of their advantage in evading antibodies”, researchers from Columbia University wrote in a study published this month in the journal Cell.
Mutations in XBB, which is prevalent in the US Northeast, have rendered at least one Covid-19 test made by DxTerity Diagnostics less reliable, US regulators said last Thursday. In general, scientists are finding that it takes a bit longer for tests to turn positive when omicron infections are present, Dr Lam said.
Despite the rapid growth of cases there, China may not yet be fertile ground for variants that evade humans’ natural or vaccine-aided immunity, said Dr Sam Scarpino, the director of Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences at Northeastern University’s Institute for Experiential AI. Relatively few people there have gained immunity conferred by vaccines or previous infections for the virus to genetically dodge.
However, as infections continue to mount with scant mitigation measures in place to stop the virus from spreading in China, new variants could soon cause problems, Dr Scarpino said.
“In a month or two, we want to be watching very closely for that,” he said in an interview. BLOOMBERG