Virus variant is more infectious, virulence unchanged: Senior health official

Variant novel coronavirus is proved to have stronger infectivity while its virulence remains unchanged, a senior official from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

"The coronavirus has become the main epidemiological disease in Europe and South Africa, especially in the United Kingdom, which maintains a strong momentum at this time," said Feng Zijian, the center's deputy director, at a news conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council on Wednesday.

"It's certain that the variant novel coronavirus is stronger in its transmission and infectivity, referring to research from overseas studies," he said.

However, there is no clear signal showing that the variant virus possesses higher virulence, as hospitalization or fatality rates of those infected with the virus mutation haven't increased yet, he said.

"The main influence the mutation has brought is tightened control and prevention measures, so the overall control plan can remain the same," he said.

"For inbound visitors, we set up 14-day quarantine and nucleic acid tests. To curb domestic expansion, we encourage people to wear masks and pay attention to their individual sanitation. As long as we keep implementing these measures, we can still prevent the spread of variant coronavirus," he said.