After the discovery of a cluster of Covid cases, Tianjin, China’s fourth-largest city and home to 14 million people, is aiming to test its citizens within the next 48 hours.
Residents have been advised to stay off the metro until they’ve been examined, and must provide a negative result in order to utilize public transportation.
Two of the 20 instances identified are highly transmissible Omicron variants, accounting for half of all transmissions.
China is implementing a zero-Covid strategy to eliminate the disease from the community.
In stark contrast to other areas of the world, which have been vaccinated, China has responded to modest numbers of local infections with massive testing and stringent lockdowns.
With the Lunar New Year on February 1, when millions of people travel every day, as well as the Winter Olympics starting a few days later, the policy is likely to come under strain. Beijing, which will host the games, is only 115 kilometers (70 miles) from Tianjin.
Olympic authorities are using a “closed loop” in which athletes can only depart if they enter quarantine or relocate to another nation.
According to Reuters, residents of Beijing have been advised not to walk up to vehicles used to transport athletes from the games. There are long lines of people in Tianjin wanting to be tested.
Although the government in Beijing is cautious, it has yet to implement many of the stringent measures seen in Xi’an and Yuzhou, which are both under lockdown.
The government of Xi’an has shut down the city since late last month, and its residents have been ordered to remain indoors while shopping for necessities is also prohibited.
Locals have complained that food supplies have dwindled, with some turning to barter as a result.