- Tianjin reported at least 40 positive cases over the weekend
- authorities moved quickly to place 29 residential communities under strict lockdown
- the virus has already spread far outside the city
- Beijing and Tianjin share a short border and are closely linked
- Omicron outbreak on the doorstep of the capital just weeks before the Games kick off
Officials in Beijing are on high alert just weeks out from the start of the Winter Olympics, after China’s first local outbreak of the Omicron variant spread from the northern port city of Tianjin to the central province of Henan, reports CNN.
Testing for omicron variant
Tianjin, located just 80 miles southeast of Beijing, is testing its entire population of 14 million people after Omicron was detected in at least two local residents Saturday — the country’s first reported community spread of the highly transmittable variant.
The city reported at least 40 positive cases over the weekend, including 24 children, though health authorities have yet to confirm whether they are infected with Omicron.
Lockdown
Tianjin authorities moved quickly to place 29 residential communities under strict lockdown, and ordered citizens not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary.
Those who want to leave must present a negative Covid test taken within 48 hours and obtain approval from their employer or local government offices.
Tianjin authorities have not ordered a full lockdown that would confine all residents to their homes — the kind that was imposed in the northwestern city of Xi’an last month, which sparked an outcry over food shortages and obstructed medical access.
Such a move would be politically fraught and economically damaging — Tianjin is a major port and economic hub, and a stringent citywide lockdown in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year could risk sparking resentment among residents.
The virus has left the city
But the virus has already spread far outside the city. State media reported Monday that two more Omicron cases had been identified in Anyang city, Henan province, more than 300 miles from Tianjin.
Genome sequencing of the virus found that it belongs to the same transmission chain as the Tianjin outbreak, according to Henan health authorities. A university student who returned to Anyang from Tianjin on December 28 is believed to have brought back the virus — suggesting the variant has already been spreading in Tianjin for nearly two weeks, at the least.
How prepared is Beijing for the Winter Olympics?
In recent months, Chinese authorities have imposed ever more stringent restrictions to curb local Covid flare-ups as Beijing prepares for the Winter Olympics. An Omicron outbreak on the doorstep of the capital just weeks before the Games kick off on February 4 represents something of a nightmare scenario for officials — who are now likely to ramp up efforts to protect Beijing.
“The only thing Beijing can do is to learn from the experience of the Tokyo Summer Games and hold the Olympics while community transmission is going on in the country,” he said, noting that the event will be held within a tightly-sealed bubble isolated from the local community anyway.
What are the control measures taken by Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control?
The Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control advised Beijing residents not to visit Tianjin and those in Tianjin to refrain from traveling to the capital. It also asked commuters between the two cities to work from home.
The center also ordered people who arrived in Beijing from Tianjin since December 23 to report to their residential communities, employers or hotels for health monitoring and Covid tests. Those who came from high-risk areas of Tianjin are required to self-isolate at home.
All tutoring centers, daycare centers and vocational training centers were closed down, while universities and colleges sealed off their campuses.
Tianjin is considered among China’s foremost cities. It is one of only four provincial-level municipalities directly under the administration of the central government — alongside Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: CNN
