Why is the epidemic in Beijing so severe? Experts explain why

This winter is especially cold! Coinciding with the coming of the light snow solar term, the epidemic situation in various parts of China has not cooled down at all, but is on the rise. The number of new cases in a single day across the country has exceeded 20,000 for consecutive days! The capital Beijing also ushered in a wave of outbreaks.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, it has been on and off for almost three years. Just when everyone believed that the current COVID-19 pneumonia is not very serious even if it is infected, Beijing reported a death case on November 20 and another new one on the 21. 2 more deaths. These three deaths were all elderly people with multiple underlying diseases. It took 7 days from admission to death for the first death case, and only 1 day from admission to death for the second and third deaths. This undoubtedly aroused people's greater attention!

The source of the epidemic in Beijing has been found!

The Amicron BF.7 mutant strain is the main strain of the epidemic in Beijing. Since the import of cases from the Beijing Foreign Trade City, it has caused clusters of outbreaks in crowded places such as nursing homes, construction sites, and schools. , Jinzhan, Tongzhou Taihu, Changping Shahe and other places formed regional transmission. From November 18 to 20, the districts with the largest number of reported cases were Chaoyang District, Changping District, Haidian District, Fengtai District, and Tongzhou District, involving a total of 214 streets and townships. At present, the epidemic situation in Beijing is still on the rise, and the situation is grim.

Why is the COVID-19 virus so difficult to control?

Reason 1: Omicron mutant strain

The culprit of this outbreak is the BF.7 mutant strain of Omicron virus. Omicron has been mutating continuously since it appeared in November 2021, from BA.1 to BF.7. While the name is weird, its transmission speed is also faster and faster. The continuous evolution of Omicron also means an important feature of Omicron in mutation and evolution: Omicron after continuous mutation can break through the immune barrier formed after previous infection or vaccination, especially humoral immunity, In this way, the general public is more prone to secondary infection or breakthrough infection. In summary, Omicron has higher infectiousness and lower virulence.

The Omicron virus BF.7 mutant strain has super transmission ability, fast transmission speed and strong concealment, and the virus passage time is only about two days. Although the Omicron variant is less virulent, it is still a fatal blow to the elderly. For people who are older, suffer from underlying diseases, and have low immunity, precautions should still be taken.

Reason 2: Nucleic acid detection

At present, with the comprehensive popularization of nucleic acid testing, the number of nucleic acid testing has increased sharply. This is a huge test for the inspectors. I started to get tired of it, and eventually the accuracy of the nucleic acid results was different from the past. Often a loophole will cause a local outbreak of the epidemic, which is one of the reasons why the epidemic is difficult to control.

epilogue

The epidemic in Beijing has not yet been brought under control, and outbreaks continue to break out in other regions. What ordinary people can do is to follow orders and not cause trouble to the party and organizations. Compared with the beginning, the condition of COVID-19 pneumonia tends to be mild, but the mutant strain of Omicron virus BF.7 has once again subverted cognition, we still need to be vigilant to prevent infection, especially the elderly, children and other immunocompromised people People, don't let the COVID-19 virus be the last straw! Of course, no winter is insurmountable. When winter comes, can spring be far behind? We look forward to overcoming the epidemic as soon as possible and ushering in a spring without epidemics!

references:

[1] Tao Yanyang; Wang Zhe; Sun Zhou; Kao Qingjun; Feng Shuang; He Zhaokai; Kong Qingxin. Epidemiological analysis of the new coronavirus pneumonia caused by the mutant strain of Omicron. International Journal of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. 2022

[2] Hong Ziqiang; Sheng Yannan; Jin Dacheng; Bai Xiangdou; Cui Baiqiang; Gou Yunjiu. The latest research progress on the new coronavirus Aumicron variant strain. Chinese Tropical Medicine.