China locks down southern city as Omicron variant surges.
BEIJING (AP) — China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baize, to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in COVID-19 cases at least partly linked to the Omicron variant.
Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve take-out. Traffic lights have been switched to red only to remind drivers to stay home.
As of Tuesday, 135 cases had been reported in the city — at least two of them found to be omicron, health authorities said.
The city has become the latest to be placed under lockdown in keeping with China’s “zero-tolerance” approach to the pandemic. The policy requires strict measures be applied even when only a few, some cases have been found.
A major concern is preventing outbreaks during the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympic Games. No new cases were reported in the Chinese capital on Tuesday.
More than 30 athletes at the Beijing Olympics are in isolation facilities after testing positive for the coronavirus, organizers said Tuesday. The average stay in isolation is seven days.
Baize, has an urban population of about 1.4 million, with another 3 million in the large surrounding rural area that abuts the Vietnamese border.
State media reported customs clearance at the crossing points of Long bang were delayed, causing further disruptions to cross-border trade that have already inflicted major losses on Vietnamese fruit farmers who rely on the Chinese market for much of their revenue.
The first cases, in Baize, were reported Saturday, at the tail end of the Lunar New Year holiday, when many Chinese travel vast distances to their hometowns. For the third year running, the government asked people to remain in place to avoid a major spread, although such calls had only a slight effect on the numbers of trips taken.
Despite the occasional regional outbreak, China has largely brought the pandemic under control through lockdowns, mass testing, case tracing, mask mandates and other strict measures. Almost 85% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data, although questions have been raised about the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, particularly against the omicron strain.
Chinese health authorities say the continuing emergence of outbreaks despite the high vaccination rate justifies the continued implementation of “zero-tolerance” policies and the quarantining of travelers arriving from abroad.
At the same time, lockdowns imposed in December and January on millions of residents of northern and central cities have been lifted.
China has reported a total of 106,524 cases of COVID-19, with 4,636 deaths. Currently, 1,473 people are in treatment for the disease.
What are the isolation rules at the Games?
Anyone testing positive after arrival is put into isolation and only allowed to compete after getting two consecutive negative tests taken 24 hours apart.
Those who have symptoms will be taken to a designated hospital, and those who are asymptomatic will stay in an isolation facility. They’re not allowed to go outside, but can request training equipment for their room if it’s available.
There’s also been some confusion over testing, with one competitor, Polish athlete Natalia Maliszewska, claiming that conflicting results meant she was allowed to compete in one race and then sent straight back into isolation.
And some athletes are unhappy about the isolation facilities they’ve been sent to after testing positive.
What other measures are in place?
Foreign spectators are barred and tickets are not on sale to the public.
Groups of local spectators are being “invited” to events and will have to observe strict Covid prevention measures “before, during and after watching the Games.”
And people are advised not to travel into the capital, Beijing, from other parts of China.
It is also keeping the media, athletes and observers in distinct bubbles, with the rules saying anyone entering these bubbles must be fully vaccinated or spend 21 days in quarantine.
Overseas participants will enter a bubble upon arrival in China, and remain in it until they leave the country.
Local support workers, including volunteers, cooks and drivers, will also be part of a sealed bubble. They’ll have no physical contact with the outside world, even with their own families.
Winter Olympics: Behind the bubble in Beijing
This system applies not just to housing, hospitals and locations meant to serve the Olympics, but also transport links. There are closed-loop airports and high-speed rail systems (most major venues are outside Beijing).
Local traffic authorities have even advised the public to “avoid contact” if they have a road accident with a vehicle carrying Olympic personnel.
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