The northern Chinese city of Tianjin yesterday advised its nearly 14 million people to stay home while it conducted mass COVID-19 testing after a spate of cases, including two caused by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, state media reported.
Tianjin emerged as a new area of concern after more than 20 COVID-19 cases were reported there in the past few days, most of them imported from abroad, the Chinese National Health Commission said.
They include at least two cases of the Omicron variant, as well as 15 infections among elementary and middle-school students, state media reports said.
Photo: Reuters
The city near the capital, Beijing, launched its mass testing early yesterday, advising residents to stay at or near home to be available for the community-level nucleic-acid screening.
However, no larger lockdown order was reported.
Chinese authorities have already been struggling with a larger outbreak centered on the northwestern city of Xian that has raised questions about the country’s zero-tolerance policy of strict lockdowns and immediate mass testing to curb outbreaks.
China, where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019, has thus far reported only a handful of Omicron cases.
Tianjin residents have been told that until they obtain a negative test result, they would not receive a “green” code on the smartphone COVID-19-tracing apps that nearly all people in China are required to present when using public transport and in other situations.
Tianjin is a major port city about 150km southeast of Beijing.
Xian was locked down last month, forcing its 13 million residents indoors. New case numbers there have begun to slow.
Officials have faced complaints from Xian residents over chaotic handling of the lockdown, including poor access to food and daily essentials, and cases such as a miscarriage suffered by an eight-month pregnant woman who was refused entry to a hospital without a COVID-19 test.
China is strictly adhering to the zero-tolerance approach as outbreaks continue to emerge in the run-up to next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics.
Its official tally since the start of the pandemic is 103,619 cases, while it has recorded 4,636 deaths.
An unauthorized drone intrusion over Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (清泉崗基地) at Taichung International Airport on Tuesday night forced the temporary closure of the base, diverting eight fighter jets and delaying a commercial flight, authorities said. Air Force Command Headquarters said that clear weather had allowed for scheduled night training exercises, but after a drone was spotted entering the airspace, the control tower declared an emergency closure of the airport, forcing eight Indigenous Defense Fighter jets in the air to divert and land at Hsinchu Air Base (新竹基地). Taichung airport director Chang Jui-shu (張瑞澍) said the airspace intrusion lasted from 7:37pm to
The air force plans to build 26 more hardened aircraft shelters as the number of F-16Vs stationed along Taiwan’s east coast is expected to reach 120 when the final shipment of 66 jets procured from the US arrives. The incoming jets would be stationed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, augmenting the F-16V Block 20s operated by the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing in Hualien County, officials said yesterday. The air force plans to allocate more than NT$6.88 billion (US$218.1 million) from next year to 2031 to build the shelters in Hualien and Taitung as part of the implementation of a “one
Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading to a volcanic island to report on an eruption there, officials said yesterday. Anak Krakatau initially erupted for about 25 hours over the weekend, and it has since continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater, the Indonesian Geology Agency said in a statement. A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten Province, for the volcanic island, Banten Province Search and Rescue Office Chief Al Amrad said. He
NO LIMITS: More legislation expanding Beijing’s control over the movement of people, money and information raises risks for Taiwanese travelers and businesses, officials said China is set to implement several laws in the coming months that expand the definition of national security, creating greater risks for Taiwanese traveling to or doing business in China, Taiwanese officials said yesterday. Beijing’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1, while a draft “Internet Information Service Management Measures” finished its public consultation on Aug. 2, but has yet to be adopted. China’s Regulations of the State Council on Exit and Entry Administration are to take effect on Tuesday next week, while amendments to its National Defense Mobilization Law and the Ministry of Public Security’s Measures
RSS