Omicron like flu, Guangzhou officials say
Health authorities stress reduced virulence of variant amid rising cases
Covid-19 is now no more serious than a seasonal cold and there is no need to panic, Guangzhou health authorities sought to assure the public, as pandemic controls were relaxed in several districts of the city despite rising caseloads.
Several major cities nationwide have eased testing requirements in line with more “targeted” anti-Covid measures urged by the central leadership, as the country battles its largest outbreak since the spring.
In a public service message broadcast on Friday, a group of health experts in Guangzhou said symptoms caused by the Omicron subvariants behind the current wave were very mild and similar to those for seasonal colds.
“The virulence of the new coronavirus [Omicron] has now evolved to the level of the seasonal flu, and some are even less virulent than the flu, so you really don’t need to panic,” said Tang Xiaoping, director of the No 8 People’s Hospital in Guangzhou and head of the national key clinical department of infectious diseases.
The joint statement came as several Guangzhou districts moved to lift area lockdowns and relax Covid-19 controls, which had seen demonstrators clash with police and workers in hazmat suits in the hardest-hit Haizhu district just days earlier.
Authorities said close contacts of patients eligible for home quarantine should also quarantine, and only close contacts were to be tested.
Guangzhou, the capital of manufacturing powerhouse Guangdong province, reported 4,922 infections yesterday. Total cases in the wave since late October have reached 162,700, with 90 per cent asymptomatic.
Only four cases were classified as “severe and critical”, and no deaths were recorded, Guangzhou health commission deputy director Zhang Yi said on Friday.
“This shows the virulence of the Omicron variant is significantly lower than previous original strains and other mutant strains,” she said.
“This is … also related to the improvement of the population’s vaccination immunity and the active prevention measures adopted.”
Tang noted that more than 90 per cent of infected patients had no symptoms and mild cases received the same treatment as for flu. “Many of my friends were also infected with the coronavirus, but they soon recovered without special treatment. So I’d like to tell the general public that you should not panic too much,” he said.
Zhang Zhongde, director of the Guangdong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said Omicron mainly affected only the upper respiratory tract.
“The symptoms of the Omicron can be said to be ‘flulike’, and milder than some severe flu cases,” he said.
Guangzhou authorities have asked hospitals and pharmacies to let people in as long as they can show a green health code on China’s app-based Covid tracking system. But patients seeking hospitalisation and their attendants are still required to provide a negative PCR test result from within the previous 24 hours.
China is battling its largest outbreak since a spring wave that triggered months of lockdown in Shanghai.
Cases nationwide rose to 32,827 yesterday, with Guangdong province and the cities of Beijing and Chongqing reporting the highest caseloads.
This came as some major cities countrywide cut back PCR testing to minimise public inconvenience, echoing a set of 20 “targeted and precise” measures promoted by the top leadership.
Cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Tianjin and Chengdu said negative PCR test results were no longer needed for entry to public places, such as shopping malls, office buildings, buses, subways and parks, though some still require visitors to register their presence using the health code app.
Beijing, which reported 3,313 infections yesterday, has scrapped Covid-19 restrictions on using public transport, with PCR test results no longer required from tomorrow.