Omikron reaches China: Several cases in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing - possibly "hidden" in circulation

Created: 01/11/2022, 4:53 PM

From: Christiane Kühl

PCR mass tests on the sports field at Tianjin University: Omikron has arrived in China © Imago / VCG

The emergency has occurred: The highly contagious Omikron variant has arrived in China.

It has already been detected in two cities, including the port city of Tianjin near Beijing.

The concern grows.

Tianjin / Munich - Omikron has now also reached China *. Despite all the strict precautionary measures, the highly contagious variant has been circulating in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing for a few days. And that's not all: The outbreak can be traced back to at least two sources, such as the director of the local health department Zhang Ying on Chinese state television

said. Accordingly, the authorities suspect that the first cases came to Tianjin from foreigners. The second Omicron virus strain discovered in the city is not identical and, according to Zhang, could come from other regions of China. That would mean that Omikron is already in circulation all over China - and so far largely unrecognized. Omikron may have been “hiding” in Tianjin for a long time, according to Zhang.

China currently fears nothing more than an omicron wave. The Olympic Winter Games will begin in Beijing in a few weeks. A safety bubble is already emerging at the sports facilities in which the first Olympic helpers isolate themselves. Only athletes, coaching staff, journalists and local employees of the Games are allowed to move freely within this bubble during the Games. The city of 14 million Tianjin is now under enormous pressure not to let the wave wash over to Beijing. The first round of mass tests for all citizens is already underway. Some industrial sites also have to temporarily stop production. For example, a VW plant * is affected. Tianjin is just under an hour by high-speed train from Beijing's main train station, and connections between the two cities are tight. No wonderthat the alarm bells are ringing in Beijing *. Especially since it is uncertain how well the Chinese inactivated vaccines protect against Omikron.

Tianjin: People fear the lockdown

So far, only one district of Tianjin has been affected, in which two residential areas have been cordoned off.

But there are already reports of hamster purchases, because the residents of the port city fear a hard lockdown like in the northern Chinese city of Xi'an *.

In the home of the world-famous Terracotta Army, people have been waiting in their apartments or central quarantine centers since the end of December and depend on food deliveries.

The lockdown should only be lifted when there are no more local infections.

This is the fate that befell the five million residents of Anyang in central China's Henan Province on Tuesday. Anyang had reported 58 new infections in the past 24 hours in the morning. The authorities immediately imposed a lockdown. All non-essential businesses were closed and Anyang began mass testing of the population. The problem: The Omikron variant was also identified in Anyang. Two of the omicron cases there were

traced back to a student from Tianjin , according to a report in the

. In the other cases, however, the situation is unclear, and many of them have no symptoms either.

Henan is already something of a hotspot for the current wave.

Several cities reported minor outbreaks and sealed off at least individual neighborhoods.

The 13 million inhabitants of the provincial capital Zhengzhou could also soon face a lockdown.

In addition to non-essential shops, schools and kindergartens have already been closed there.

Restaurants are only allowed to offer take-away food.

Local public transport has been suspended, and taxis are currently not allowed to drive.

China: Omikron endangers the success of the zero-covid policy

China's numbers are still extremely low by European standards.

But Omikron could jeopardize the success of China's strict zero-covid * policy.

This is one of the reasons why the health authorities are currently reacting even more violently than during previous outbreaks.

Covid-19 is also repeatedly causing mischief in China's deep south. In the tech metropolis of Shenzhen *, eight infections with the Delta variant were found these days. One of the infected was a dock worker, which is why parts of the Shenzhen container port in Yantian are being shut down again, including for mass tests among the workers. A good 30 ships are stowed there, according to research by the

.

Corona-related loading stops in Yantian had already led to a gigantic traffic jam * in the summer, with consequences for the entire world trade.

In the meantime, Omikron has also reached the neighboring Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Carrie Lam announced the closure of all kindergartens and elementary schools until the Chinese New Year celebrations in early February.

Bars and fitness studios will also remain closed.

(ck / with AFP)