Fu Gengfeng, a researcher at the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, answered the frequently asked questions about the stealthy Omicron sub-variant that spreads quickly in many regions on March 16.

Fu said the Omicron variant has spread worldwide rapidly and is now the dominant variant in many countries including China. Omicron has an incubation period of 1-14 days, or 3-7 days on average, before symptoms show up in the newly infected person. People with the coronavirus are most infectious in the first five days after symptoms develop.  

Omicron is much more transmissible than previous variants of the COVID-19 virus, including Delta, but it causes less severe disease, said Fu. Because of vaccination and individual health factors, many of those infected with Omicron are asymptomatic. However, they are still contagious, and this make the transmission hard to detect. 

Although omicron is highly contagious, current detection methods are still effective and vaccines still work, especially in reducing severe illness. He called for people to get fully vaccinated. 

He also said the current COVID-19 response focuses on precisely identifying the risky aera with infection cases and then curbing the spread as soon as possible. Fu said there’s no need to panic and people should understand and comply with the various requirements from response teams.  

Fu urged the public to help stop the transmission of the disease by following health habits such as keep indoor rooms well ventilated, wear masks, wash hands clean, and ensure physical distancing. In addition, he said residents in the area with COVID-19 outbreak should limit time being outdoors, avoid gatherings and monitor their health.  

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