Since January 15, Beijing has reported 52 cases of Covid-19 (6 Omicron, 35 confirmed Delta and 11 asymptomatic Delta). New cases were reported for seven consecutive days. The Omicron cases – which only have mild symptoms – were all due to mail from overseas and located in Haidian district; the other cases were infected by the Delta variant triggered by imported cold-chain goods in Chaoyang, Fengtai and Fangshan districts. More than 1.55 million residents in Fengtai district have been tested in one single day and requested not to travel to other districts in Beijing. A second test is being carried out on January 25. The provinces of Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning and Hebei have already found a total of eight infections linked to the capital. Beijing has imported 60,000 metric tons of cold chain food in 23,900 batches since January 1.
The recent outbreak started when four districts of Beijing – Haidian, Chaoyang, Fangshan and Fengtai – reported five new domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases on January 19. Four of those were related to cold-chain work, prompting Cai Qi, Communist Party Secretary of Beijing, to issue a high alert and a full-scale inspection in the cold chain across the city. Of the five cases, three were of the Delta variant. Several residential compounds were sealed off in Fengtai district after the new Covid-19 cases were reported. There are currently almost 80 medium-to-high risk zones across China under lockdown to suppress clusters.
At least four rounds of disinfection will be carried out for international mail upon arrival in China to prevent Covid-19 transmission from overseas, an official from the State Post Bureau of China said. Several cases found in Beijing, Zhuhai and Shenzhen were suspected of being infected by contaminated goods from overseas. Officials suggested that recipients of international mail open the envelope or package outdoors, disinfect the inside, and wash their hands later. The State Post Bureau of China also suggested people reduce goods delivery from countries and regions with a high risk of Covid-19.
On January 18, the Beijing Winter Olympic Athletes' Village officially launched its closed-loop management and entered into pre-Games operations. No tickets will be sold to the general public, as only a designated audience will be selected for the Games. Invited spectators are mainly employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and students attending universities in Beijing. Staff members already entered the Olympic village weeks in advance and have all received booster shots, while the first group of athletes moved in on January 23. Nearly 3,000 people were involved in the closed loop management trial, in preparation for the arrival of the athletes. Around 340,000 tests have been conducted among Winter Games arrivals from January 4 to 22, with 72 confirmed Covid-19 cases within the Olympic bubble. In the period, medical staff have tested 2,586 people at Beijing airport with 39 confirmed positive cases. Within the closed loop there have been 336,421 tests with 33 confirmed positive cases. None of the 171 athletes who had so far arrived tested positive. The closed loop protects the people of China by keeping the domestic population separate from participants coming from around the world.
Health authorities in Tianjin said an outbreak in the port city has been brought under effective control, with all the new cases found among those in quarantine. Tianjin reported at least 326 locally transmitted confirmed Covid- 19 cases in the latest resurgence in the city. A district in Anyang, Henan province, announced a “curfew” in Wenfeng amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the city. Residents will only be allowed to enter and leave their communities during a certain period of time in the morning and evening. Since January 8, 433 confirmed cases have been reported in Anyang, including 409 in Tangyin county and 19 in Wenfeng district. The city of Xian has partially resumed public transport after millions were locked down at their homes for weeks. Trains from Xian to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have resumed services as the number of new daily cases dropped to zero. The absence of new cases suggests the current outbreak is coming under control. Citizens with a green health code are allowed to leave the city. Shaanxi province had reported at least 2,077 patients in the latest outbreak. In Harbin, the city's 10 million residents were tested, although there are no recent cases. The city wanted to test its epidemic prevention preparedness ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday from January 31 to February 6.
The U.S. government is suspending 44 flights by four Chinese airlines from the United States to China in response to the Chinese government’s decision to suspend some U.S. operated flights because they carried too many passengers found to be infected with Covid-19. The suspensions will begin on January 30 and end on March 30, the Transportation Department said. The decision will cut some flights by Xiamen Airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. Since December 31, Chinese authorities have suspended 20 United Airlines, 10 American Airlines and 14 Delta Air Lines flights. The Chinese embassy in Washington, called the U.S. move “very unreasonable” and urged the U.S. side to stop disrupting and restricting normal passenger flights by Chinese airlines. The number of international flights to and from China has dropped to just 200 a week, or 2% of pre-pandemic levels.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Global Times, Shanghai Daily and South China Morning Post.
