Will the Omikron variant of the coronavirus destroy the Winter Olympics? There has been widespread unrest and panic in China after at least two cases of Omikron have been found in the northeastern port city of Tianjin. This concerns infections with an unclear origin, and a variant that differs from the Omikron that a traveler brought into the city from abroad in December.
“It’s the first real battle against Omikron in mainland China,” an unnamed immunologist told the Chinese party newspaper. Global Times. “It is the first time that cases of Omikron that have been transmitted locally have been discovered.”
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The central government is concerned that Omikron is now also coming to the capital, or has even been brought in unnoticed. Tianjin has grown close to Beijing and many people commute between the two cities every day. The Winter Olympics start in Beijing on February 4. February 1 is also the Chinese New Year, when many people traditionally visit their families all over the country. They can then easily spread Omikron throughout the country.
Tianjin immediately canceled 144 flights, people are asked not to travel between the two cities.
Mass testing
The infections came to light when two people volunteered to be tested. They have not been outside Tianjin for the past two weeks. Their contacts were then checked and tested, after which 18 more cases were revealed. It has not been disclosed whether this also always concerns Omikron. Fifteen of the twenty cases involved children between the ages of 8 and 13.
The city council decided to test all 14 million inhabitants within 24 hours from seven o’clock on Sunday morning
The city council decided to test all fourteen million inhabitants within 24 hours from seven o’clock on Sunday morning. Residents who do not report will receive an orange health code. This means they can no longer use public transport, shops and restaurants. Only when they have been tested and are not infected, the code turns green again.
Mr. Wang (51) queues in Tianjin to be tested as NRC calls him. “I am with my wife and two children. My neighborhood committee arranged that,” he says. He can be tested ten minutes’ walk from his home by government personnel assisted by volunteers. Quickly testing large numbers of people in China is also possible because often the samples of ten people are tested at the same time. Only if there is a positive test in between, is that person tested separately again.
Mr. Wang is not worried that the city will be locked: “The last time we had corona here, everything was well arranged. That is probably going well now too,” he says. He has not hoarded in the stores and ordered additional food on the Internet.
Food shortages
Mr. Wang, who does not want to give his full name, has more confidence in a good outcome than many of his fellow townsmen. Other residents immediately started hoarding for fear that the entire city will go into lockdown. Sunday morning at seven o’clock, according to the Global Times long queues in front of the shops, vegetables were no longer available.
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On December 23, the western Chinese city of Xi’an went into lockdown. There were major problems with the distribution of food. People went on to exchanging cigarettes, game consoles and mobile phones for noodles, steamed buns and Chinese cabbage.
Medical care was also difficult. A woman who was eight months pregnant lost her childbecause the hospital wouldn’t let her in. Her valid corona test would have expired just four hours earlier.
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