JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

China's Tianjin says coronavirus outbreak hits 40 cases amid Omicron battle

China's Tianjin says coronavirus outbreak hits 40 cases amid Omicron battle

Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 15:13 GMT+7
China's Tianjin says coronavirus outbreak hits 40 cases amid Omicron battle
People line up for nucleic acid testing during a citywide mass testing for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after local cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Tianjin, China January 9, 2022. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters

The northern Chinese city of Tianjin said its latest coronavirus outbreak had reached a total of 40 confirmed cases by Tuesday morning, as it battles the highly contagious Omicron variant that has already been detected in at least two other provinces.

After 10 new confirmed infections on Monday, health officials in Tianjin, a city of 14 million people around 100 km (62 miles) from Beijing, are implementing tough new controls to stop the coronavirus from spreading further. The outbreak in the city has been linked to cases in the city of Anyang in the central Chinese province of Henan.

The country's Omicron surge comes just weeks before the Lunar New Year, a peak travel period for millions, and cities across China are already advising people to stay put, especially as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics at the start of next month.

China has already ordered the cancellation of more than two dozen scheduled flights from the United States after numerous passengers tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived in China.

"Facing Omicron directly, we found the speed of transmission was really quite fast," said Zhang Ying, an official with Tianjin's disease control centre, speaking in an interview aired on state television late on Monday.

"Whether it is in terms of virus origin tracing or epidemiological investigations, the Omicron variant has brought along unprecedentedly massive challenges and difficulties," she said.

Tianjin confirmed its first two locally transmitted cases of Omicron at the weekend, and Zhang said 20 infected people were discovered in the first 24 hours.

The city has imposed travel restrictions and launched a mass testing programme to help prevent the variant from spreading.

China reported 192 new confirmed nationwide coronavirus cases for Jan. 10, up from 157 a day earlier. Of the total, 110 were locally transmitted, up from 97 a day earlier.

There were 87 cases in highly populated Henan province, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.

The provincial capital of Zhengzhou has already shut non-essential public facilities like beauty salons and banned dining in restaurants, and it has also stopped taxis and ride-hailing platforms from operating in some quarantined areas, local officials told a briefing on Tuesday.

Henan's Anyang confirmed on Monday that two of its new cases over the past few days were part of the same Omicron transmission chain as Tianjin. It is unclear how many of the other cases in Henan are Omicron-related.

A separate Omicron infection was reported on Monday in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, about 120 km (75 miles) from Shanghai on China's eastern coast. The patient had travelled from Australia to Shanghai on Jan. 5 before transferring to Wuxi.

China also reported 50 new asymptomatic cases on Monday, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, up from 42.

There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636. As of Jan. 10, mainland China had 103,968 confirmed cases.

Reuters

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news