China Locks Down Second City Over Omicron Threat

Category: World News

China has locked down a city of five million people a day after detecting Omicron in the central Henan province, its second shut down in as many months, underscoring the nation’s commitment to eliminating Covid as two highly transmissible variants circulate.

Authorities in the city of Anyang told residents not to leave their homes and banned use of all vehicles after two people were reported with the more contagious omicron variant on Monday.

Another 58 cases were disclosed Tuesday morning, according to the local health authorities, though they didn’t say whether the infections were caused by Omicron.

The Omicron flareups in Henan and the northern port city of Tianjin pose major challenges for officials already grappling with a Delta outbreak, one of China’s most protracted since the virus emerged more than two years ago. Both are adjacent to Hebei province, which is hosting snow sport competitions during the Winter Olympics in Beijing that start in less than a month.

On Tuesday, China reported 110 locally transmitted Covid infections.