Coronavirus: Tianjin reports biggest jump in daily cases of latest outbreak
- Another 80 locally acquired infections recorded but residents have so far avoided citywide lockdown
- Transport to nearby Beijing remains restricted as the capital prepares to host the Winter Olympics
The northern Chinese city recorded 80 new local symptomatic cases on Monday, up from 33 the day before, according to the National Health Commission.
Tianjin, which is about 30 minutes by train from Beijing, is one of China’s largest cities by population and home to one of its major ports. It is the “recommended” port of entry for goods for the Winter Games and operations have not been affected by the outbreak, according to local media reports.
A third round of mass testing in the city of 14 million was completed on Sunday. Tianjin’s health commission said a total of 294 cases had been detected in the outbreak so far, with nearly 28,000 close contacts in isolation and almost 9,000 people under medical observation.
While other Chinese cities battling outbreaks – such as Xian in Shaanxi – have locked down millions of people as they try to stamp out local clusters, residents of Tianjin are mostly free to move about, except for those in the worst-hit district of Jinnan and other areas where cases have been reported.
The priority was to “minimise the movement of people in the infected areas”, the Tianjin command centre for Covid-19 control and prevention said on Thursday.