Omicron: kitchen supplier hit by Hangzhou outbreak as China pursues goods transmission theory
- 30 cases detected in the city since first case on Wednesday, with strain different to previous local or imported Omicron cases, say officials
- Some Welbilt employees attended a wedding banquet, at least seven positive cases were found among party guests
City authorities said the first case was found in a worker for Welbilt (China), an international supplier of food service equipment. The authorities said on Thursday that the strain was different to previous local or imported Omicron cases and categorised it as a new outbreak.
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They said four Omicron positive samples were found in unopened imported Welbilt goods, and genome sequencing showed they were closely related to a strain identified abroad in December.
Half of the 30 infected patients were employees of Welbilt, which has 240 staff. Some other positive cases came from restaurants and other shops near the company.
Five infected employees had attended an annual company event.
Several company employees had attended a wedding banquet and at least seven positive cases were found among the party guests.