Recently, a new coronavirus variant (B.1.1.529) has been spreading in African countries such as Botswana and South Africa, causing renewed global anxiety. It is reported that the new variant of B.1.1.529 new coronavirus detected this time, the World Health Organization qualified as a “variant of close concern” (VOC), named Omicron. 1, the symptoms of infection Omicron reported that Omicron currently only causes “mild illness”. Symptoms include muscle aches, fatigue, and a mild cough. No infected person has been found to have lost the sense of taste and smell, and the symptoms are not obvious. 2, the new mutant strain of infectious or enhanced by 500%? What is the difference between the Delta strain and the Delta virus? The Delta strain contains a total of 15 mutations in the stinger protein, while the Omicron strain is known to have 32 mutations in the stinger protein, more than double that of the Delta strain. Some experts believe that the diversity of these mutations may lead to increased infectivity of the virus and its ability to evade vaccine immunity. One U.S. epidemiologist has even suggested that “the new mutant strain could be 500% more infectious”. However, it is important to clarify that a greater number of mutations does not mean that the virus is more infectious, but rather whether the number of mutated loci has an impact on the infectiousness and immune evasion ability of the virus, and that there is no definite positive relationship between the number of mutated loci and the ability of the virus to spread. Even if Omicron has a strong immune escape ability, it does not mean that the virus can bind more effectively to host cells, so it will take at least 2 weeks in the future to figure out whether Omicron virus is more transmissible. 3. What the emergence of mutant strains of Omicron means Omicron is spreading rapidly, and the mutant strains of the virus initially found in the southern African country of Botswana are now spreading in several European The mutant strain, originally found in the southern African country of Botswana, has now spread to several countries in Europe. Several countries have adopted entry restrictions to prevent the introduction of Omicron. Previously, a total of four variants were included by WHO as closely watched mutant strains, namely Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2), which is the most transmissible, with Omicron (B.1.1.529) being the fifth. The emergence of Omicron implies that the new coronavirus is mutating rapidly, with the possibility of more new variants to follow. At present, despite its rapid spread, the symptoms are not severe. But after all, Omicron has appeared for a short time, and it is not possible to figure out its epidemic pattern from the available data. So how harmful it is, whether it will make the disease more serious, and whether a vaccine needs to be developed for it will have to be judged based on subsequent research. Therefore, it will take time to further observe whether Omicron can develop into the dominant strain in the future. What is certain at this point is that this virus carries a large number of mutations, which will pose more challenges for epidemic prevention.4. How big is the threat posed by Omicron Due to the lack of research data related to Omicron virus, no one has a complete understanding of it yet, so it is not clear how big a threat it poses. However, it can be assured that China’s current rapid response and dynamic clearance strategy can handle all types of new coronavirus variants, and the mutant strain will not yet have much impact on China. Existing neo-crown vaccines need to be continued.5. Omicron lethality Although the number of cases of infection with Omicron virus is increasing, it is unclear whether the Omicron strain causes more severe disease compared to infection with other variant strains such as Delta due to its short duration. So it is too early to predict whether the Omicron strain will cause severe disease and how lethal it will be. But regardless of how the virus mutates, the protective measures we need to take are the same. It is to wear masks, not to gather, to keep social distance, to pay attention to personal and environmental hygiene, to have more ventilation in the living and working environment, and to be actively vaccinated.