China deals with her first domestic outbreak of omicron in the worst place and time: in Tianjin, half an hour by train from Beijing, and with three weeks to go before the capital lights the cauldron of the Winter Olympic Games. China added half a dozen cases of the new variant but of limited danger, always diagnosed in travelers during the forced quarantine. Tianjin will measure the effectiveness of zero tolerance policy in the newer and more contagious variants of the coronavirus.
The port city had reported three cases over the weekend located in an educational center and this Monday, after having analyzed direct contacts, raised the figure to 21. At least two correspond to omicron, a boy and a teacher who have not left China in recent months. Its positives suggest that the outbreak was circulating in the community before it was detected. Two other omicron infections have been detected in Anyang, far away Henan province, linked to the Tianjin outbreak. The origin of this is still unknown but the first investigations rule out previously detected travelers.
The local government has already adopted the usual military discourse. The city will be “the moat” that will protect the capital, Communist Party Secretary Li Hongzhong has promised. “Finding the source of infections is the most urgent and important task“, has added. Tianjin serves as a test bed, epidemiologist Zhang Boli told the local press: “His experience will provide valuable experience to other regions in their fight against the pandemic.”
Nothing random
Tianjin poses the greatest threat to the Olympic Games with which China intends to demonstrate that great events are also possible in times of pandemic. Nothing has been left to chance and the Pekingese have been informed that should avoid any contact with bubble personnel. Not even, the authorities have clarified today, if a vehicle with the Olympic badge suffers an accident on the streets of the capital. This context explains why a score of cases among the 13 million inhabitants of Tianjin pose a major risk.
The city ordered massive protocol tests to its entire population on Sunday. “I received the message on Wechat – the most famous social network in China – at noon and minutes later I went down to the right place,” reveals Chen Xixi, a senior executive of a state coal company. He hung out on the streets for eight hours in the frigid north China winter with coffee and a muffin until it was his turn. He blames the incompetence of his housing complex and stresses that his parents handled the process in half an hour, but the episode reveals that not all cities exhibit the efficiency of Wuhan two years ago. In Xian, confined for the past two weeks, some residents have lamented the lack of food supplies. “In the next few hours I will receive the test result on my mobile and, if it is negative, I will be able to return to the office,” Chen adds. Casuistry indicates that Tianjin will not be saved from the confinementor if the infections continue to grow in the next few days. The measure threatens the health of global supply chains because the city has the most important port in the north of the country.
Tianjin had already closed many of its subway and bus lines on Sunday and closed its tourist attractions. Train tickets to and from Beijing are also not sold, which has accentuated its precautionary measures. Unrest grows in Tianjin when it decreases in Xian. The capital of the province of Shaanxi reported barely a fortnight of cases when the previous week it frequented the hundred.
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