4 Covid-19 cases spark mass testing in south China city
- Millions of residents in Dongguan warned of legal consequences if they fail to comply as authorities race to stop the spread
- Meanwhile, tracing is under way to identify contacts of China’s first cases of the Omicron variant
Local authorities said the move was intended to stop the further spread of the coronavirus and those who did not comply would face legal consequences.
Don’t go home for the Lunar New Year, Chinese workers urged
Dongguan, in Guangdong province, first reported two positive coronavirus cases on Monday. A further two asymptomatic cases were confirmed after midnight on Tuesday.
Provincial capital Guangzhou during routine testing on Wednesday found an asymptomatic case, a driver who was in charge of incoming travellers. Health authorities said preliminary investigation showed the person was possibly infected when transporting imported cases. The variant involved has yet to be determined.
China’s “dynamic zero-Covid strategy” aims to control outbreaks as quickly as possible through mass testing and restrictions on movement and transport. However, infections are still breaking out in the country in waves, some caused by cases coming in from border regions.
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China records second Omicron case, further tightens measures to contain latest Covid-19 outbreaks
Of 50 local confirmed infections reported nationwide on Wednesday, as many as 45 were in two cities in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. Three other cases were found in the northern border city of Manzhouli, in Inner Mongolia.
There were also 39 imported cases, 17 of which were symptomatic.
Restrictions on railway services from three districts in Ningbo, Shaoxing and Hangzhou to other provinces will be in place until mid-March next year, or until their Covid-19 risk level is lowered.
This comes with Beijing set to host the Winter Olympics in February, as well as the annual National People’s Congress meeting, one of China’s biggest political gatherings, which is normally held in March.
The central province of Henan reported on Wednesday that a close contact of the Guangdong Omicron case was in quarantine and had tested negative for the virus. Samples from the person’s home and belongings had also tested negative.
The close contact and the confirmed case had both arrived in Shanghai from Canada on November 27, on Air Canada flight AC025. The close contact tested negative four times during the mandatory 14-day quarantine for overseas arrivals, according to the authorities.
The person then travelled to Henan by high-speed rail on December 11 and started home quarantine in the city of Xinxiang, and only had a brief conversation on the following day with a neighbour – who remained 3 metres (10 feet) away.
In a precautionary move, the nearby Henan city of Shangqiu has urged residents to avoid travel over the New Year and the Lunar New Year.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 records showed that the Air Canada flight took off from Vancouver on November 25 and stopped over in Seoul before flying on to Shanghai.
Canada confirmed its first imported Omicron cases in its capital Ottawa three days later, on November 28. The country’s top health official has said cases may rise rapidly due to the community spread of the Omicron variant.
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that 77 countries have reported cases of Omicron, but the variant was likely to be already present in most countries even if it had not been detected yet.
WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Omicron was spreading at a rate not seen with any previous variant and it was a matter of concern that people were dismissing the variant as mild.
“We underestimate this virus at our peril. Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”
