Shenzhen transmission chain traced to international mail

The first case of the Omicron variant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, which was reported on Sunday, was infected possibly while opening a parcel from North America on Jan 12.

The woman, who was engaged in the distribution of imported frozen chemical agents, started to have a sore throat on Jan 14, said Lin Hancheng, an official of the city's health commission, at a news conference on Monday.

The gene sequence of the coronavirus found in the woman is identical to those frequently uploaded from North America to the global data bank. The case is not part of any of the domestic transmission chains previously reported.