The Omicron variant arrives in Beijing three weeks after the start of the Winter Olympics, while China is grappling with various Covid-19 outbreaks.
The first case was discovered in the Haidian district, known for its many technology company headquarters: Pang Xinghuo, a municipality official, explained that a first round of tests has started in the residential complex and in the person's office building. infected.
In recent weeks, the capital has urged residents, in order to reduce the risk of contagion, to avoid unnecessary travel and not to leave the city even for the upcoming Lunar New Year.
The announcement by the capital's health authorities came in the aftermath of travel restrictions imposed by the southern city of Zhuhai, near Macao, on residents after mass tests revealed 7 infections, of which one confirmed and six asymptomatic. Mass testing of the 2.4 million population was launched yesterday in Zhuhai, Guangdong after a Covid case was detected in nearby Zhongshan earlier this week. On Thursday, commercial activities including beauty salons, game rooms, gyms and cinemas were ordered to close, with the suspension of public bus lines in some parts of the city.
The Omicron variant tested the 'zero tolerance' strategy espoused by the Chinese leadership: the first internal outbreak recently appeared in Tianjin, 150 kilometers from Beijing, before spreading to other parts of the country, including Dalian, Liaoning, and in Anyang, Henan.
National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng explained today that the country faced a "double challenge" from both the initial strain of the virus and the Delta and Omicron strains.
Yesterday, according to the Commission updates, 165 cases of Covid were recorded in the country, of which 104 transmitted locally and 61 imported.
Among the internal ones, 52 refer to Henan, 39 to Tianjin, 8 to Guangdong, 4 to Shaanxi and one to Zhejiang.
