The Hill
Health officials in Beijing say that the city's first case of the omicron variant may have come from international mail.
Beijing announced the case had been detected on Saturday after the infected patient took a voluntary test. Officials have since sealed off the patient's residential compound and begun contact tracing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Pang Xinghuo, the deputy director of Beijing's municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a Monday press conference that a piece of mail the patient touched had traces of omicron on it and “could not be ruled out” as the source of exposure, the Journal reported.
The health official added that more than 16,500 people who were possibly exposed to the person were tested and received negative results.
