Health officials are raising concerns regarding a dangerous new COVID-19 strain as hospitalization rates in China escalate. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that patients from nine countries have tested positive for this new strain. These countries include China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, France, The Netherlands, and Spain.
Travellers carrying the virus have arrived in various locations across the United States, specifically in California, Washington State, Virginia, and New York City. The new variant identified as NB.1.8.1 has been linked to a notable increase in positive COVID-19 cases in China, leading to many patients requiring hospital treatment.
Neighboring regions such as Taiwan and the administrative region of Hong Kong have also reported a rise in hospitalizations. In Hong Kong, officials are advising residents to wear masks to mitigate the spread of this new variant. They have indicated that the city’s COVID-19 rates have reached the highest levels seen in over a year, corresponding with a significant rise in hospital admissions.
The CDC has acknowledged the reported cases of the COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 strain in China and is maintaining regular communication with international health partners. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic originating nearly six years ago, it continues to exacerbate political tensions, particularly between the United States and China.
Earlier this month, Beijing claimed that the virus may have originated in the United States, amid ongoing allegations suggesting that it initially emerged from China. The administration of former US President Donald Trump posited that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. In response, a Chinese white paper asserted that substantial evidence indicates that COVID-19 may have actually emerged in the United States prior to its officially recognized timeline and before the outbreak in China.
Furthermore, the white paper accused the US government of avoiding responsibility for its handling of the pandemic. It stated that rather than confronting its failures in response to COVID-19, the US has attempted to shift the blame and divert public attention through political discourse surrounding the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
