Chongqing- On March 13, Chongqing added four new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, one asymptomatic case in the High-tech zone, one confirmed case in Banan District, and one in Yubei District, according to the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission.
The commission added that as of 17:00 on March 13, 1068 close contacts and 1079 sub-close contacts in Chongqing have been implemented control measures.
The Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted whole-genome sequencing of the relevant cases. It is highly homologous with the pathogens of existing cases in other provincial regions in China after the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention comparison.
Chongqing City Management College was closed for management. (iChongqing file photo)
Regional division criteria
Currently, Chongqing has three medium-risk areas, three closed control areas, seven control areas, and four prevention areas located in the Chongqing High-tech zone.
Luo Fei, an expert from the Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, clarified the regional division criteria during the epidemic, generally based on three dimensions.
The first is the geographical area with the residential district and building as the basic unit. The second is time with a maximum incubation period of 14 days as a cycle. The third is the epidemic situation which is implemented a comprehensive evaluation of the risk based on the number of cases and the trajectory of activities.
The specific classification criteria should also be adjusted according to the situation and changing epidemic trends, said Luo.
"It's also important to control the epidemic effectively without causing too much impact on residents' normal life," he added.
Chongqing citizens are queuing up for nucleic acid testing. (iChongqing file photo)
Campus prevention and control situation
From the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, Currently, Chongqing City Management College, where the epidemic occurred, has completed the thorough diagnostic investigation, the first round of on-campus nucleic acid testing, and the centralized placement and isolation of close contacts.
At the same time, the college will provide psychological counseling and living services to protect teachers and students.
For the moment, the second round of nucleic acid testing and epidemiological traceability are progressing in an orderly manner.
Infection source
Chongqing has made a breakthrough in the local infection source research, addressed Luo.
Experts conclude the epidemiological investigation, laboratory testing, and gene sequencing comparisons that this current outbreak was deemed a local outbreak of SARSCOV2 (COVID-19) caused by imported cases from outside the city. The infecting strain is the new Omicron variant.
After gene sequencing by the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, the sequences of the new coronavirus in the three confirmed cases found on March 11 were completely identical as all belonged to the Omicron variant and were verified by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention to be 100% homologous with the sequences of the three confirmed cases from other provincial regions in China.