Omicron has brought new challenges for China's strategy to quickly
stamp out outbreaks, which has taken on urgency ahead of the Winter
Olympics set to start from Feb. 4, while the busy Lunar New Year
travel season begins this month.
Volkswagen Group's China unit said it had shut a vehicle plant run
jointly with FAW Group in Tianjin, as well as a component factory
since Monday due to the outbreak.
Tianjin, located about 100 km (62 miles) from the capital Beijing,
reported 41 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed
symptoms on Wednesday, up from 33 a day earlier, National Health
Commission data showed.
Dalian in the northeast also reported an individual arriving from
Tianjin had tested positive for Omicron, city officials said. It
said the virus situation was "largely controllable".
Anyang in the central province of Henan reported 43 local
symptomatic cases on Wednesday, after two Omicron infections on
Monday. It traced the flare-up to a student from Tianjin.
Case numbers in Tianjin and Anyang are tiny compared with outbreaks
in many other countries, though the number of local Omicron
infections is unclear. Still, officials imposed curbs on movement
within the cities and outside.
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Several cities across China have ordered quarantine for recent
visitors to the two cities. Beijing is among the many cities urging
people to stay put during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Citing the Omicron risk and the need to keep the Olympics Games
safe, officials in the capital encouraged commuters from satellite
towns to work from home.
There were no new deaths on Wednesday, leaving the toll since the
virus was first found two years ago in China unchanged at 4,636.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/13/images/ads/current/atlantaNB_lda_HFH_2021.png) IMPORTED INFECTIONS
Zhang Wenhong, director of a COVID-19 treatment
team in Shanghai, said on Thursday the public
health clinic in the commercial hub faced a
record number of infections arriving from
overseas.
Imported cases in Shanghai during the first 10
days of this month have already exceeded
December's total, Reuters calculations showed.
How many were caused by Omicron is unclear.
China has suspended more U.S. flights after a
surge in numbers of infected passengers.
Its tough measures against local outbreaks
included punishment for officials, with 11
people held to account in Anyang by Wednesday
for failing to properly control the virus.
On Thursday, city authorities in the ancient
town of Xian ordered two hospitals to suspend
operations for three months for failures in
providing medical care during the outbreak.
The move drove down shares of their owner, XiAn
International Medical Investment Co, by 10%, or
the maximum permitted daily percentage change.
One of the hospitals apologised for rigid virus
controls that delayed treatment for a patient
who suffered a heart attack and died.
The story of a pregnant woman who lost her
unborn baby after waiting for two hours outside
the other hospital provoked anger on Chinese
social media and brought punishment for city
officials.
(Reporting by Roxanne Liu, Ella Cao and David
Stanway; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence
Fernandez)
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