A staff worker conducts disinfection at a nucleic acid testing site in Chaoyang district of Beijing on April 25, 2022. (WEI XIAOHAO / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING — There have been no local cases of the COVID-19 Omicron XBB.1.5 detected in China so far, according to a virology expert at a press conference for COVID-19 response held Friday.

Since October, there have been 16 local infection cases of Omicron XBB subvariants in China, said Chen Cao, a research fellow at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The XBB.1.5, a sub-strain of the Omicron XBB, has strengthened transmissibility. By Jan 12, XBB.1.5 infections had been reported in at least 40 countries and regions around the world, Chen said.

Between Dec 1, 2022 and Jan 10 of this year, a total of 19 sub-strains of the Omicron variant were monitored across China, with the BA.5.2 and BF.7 subvariants being predominant, Chen said.