Suzhou city, Jiangsu province, reported a new Omicron subvariant BA.1.1 on Saturday, and the Suzhou City Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that no highly homologous sequence of the novel coronavirus genome was found in multiple databases.

The center said that it will take some time to analyze and compare before it can have more information about the finding.

Experts said that a new subvariant does not always mean a more contagious strain, and only the most adaptable ones will survive and may stand chance to become a mainstream strain causing epidemic spread.

However, it is important to collect samples from current COVID-19 infections, conduct viral genome sequencing, and closely monitor mutation situation, according to experts.

It is always necessary to detect mainstream virus strains in a timely manner, and develop effective vaccines, antiviral drugs and detection reagents for epidemic prevention and control, they said.

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn