Categories: Coronavirus

Omicron Spreads To Southern China City Bordering Macau

(FILES) This file photo taken on December 28, 2021, shows a health worker taking a swab sample from a man to be tested for Covid-19 coronavirus in Beijing. Noel Celis / AFP

 

The southern Chinese city of Zhuhai suspended public bus routes on Saturday after announcing it had detected at least seven cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant there and warning residents not to leave the city.

The coastal city of Zhuhai, which borders the gambling hub Macau, said late Friday Omicron had been detected in one mildly ill and six asymptomatic patients, after launching mass testing due to a case in a neighbouring city.

China is battling a spate of coronavirus outbreaks, including several from the Omicron variant, as the country steps up vigilance against the virus ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics next month.

Millions of people across the country have been ordered to stay home in recent weeks, with scores of domestic flights cancelled and factories shut down.

READ ALSO: Brazil Begins Vaccinating Children Despite President’s Objection

Zhuhai officials have asked residents avoid leaving the city “unless necessary”, with those who do require to show negative Covid test results within the past 24 hours.

The city had launched mass testing for its population of 2.4 million people on Friday after a Covid case was detected in neighbouring Zhongshan earlier in the week.

Businesses including beauty salons, card rooms, gyms and cinemas were ordered to close on Thursday, with officials announcing the suspension of public bus routes in parts of the city.

China has kept Covid-19 cases relatively low throughout the pandemic with its zero-tolerance strategy of immediately ordering mass testing and strict lockdowns when infections are detected.

But the fast-spreading Omicron variant has tested that strategy in recent weeks, appearing in the port city of Tianjin close to Beijing before spreading to the central city of Anyang.

The country reported 104 domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases on Saturday.

Akinola Ajibola

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Akinola Ajibola
Tags: ChinaOmicron

Recent Posts

Do Not Denigrate Nigeria In Your Sermons, Tinubu Appeals To Religious Leaders

He urged the leaders to be more constructive in their criticism of those in elective…

2 hours ago

Soldiers’ Death: Wanted Delta Monarch Turns Self In

Before he turned himself in to the police, the monarch spoke to journalists, insisting on…

4 hours ago

45 Killed As Bus Plunges Off South Africa Bridge

The vehicle had been heading from neighbouring Botswana to Moria in the north of the…

4 hours ago

CBN Pegs Minimum Capital Base For Banks At ₦500bn 

The apex bank said the new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorisation…

6 hours ago

Soldiers’ Killing Oil-Related, DSS Should Lead Probe — Urhobo Leader

The Urhobo leader called for an independent probe into the circumstances that led to the…

6 hours ago

Tyrants Won’t Become Leaders In Parliamentary Democracy — Utomi 

The thought leader noted that thriving democracies in the world practice parliamentary democracy.

7 hours ago