China has 20 million people locked down as third city imposes Covid measures

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About 20 million people have been locked down in China after a third city imposed new restrictions to deal with the outbreak of the Covid virus just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Anyang, a city in eastern Henan province, was the latest to be locked down – with residents ordered to stay at home, non-essential businesses shuttered, and people banned from driving on the roads.

The measures, imposed on the city of 5.5 million people, come in response to reports of two local infections in Omicron on Monday. The injuries were traced to a student who traveled from Tianjin on December 28, raising fears that the latest variant has been circulating in Tianjin for several weeks.

China’s National Health Commission reported 110 new COVID-19 cases locally on Monday, including 87 in Henan Province, 13 in Shaanxi and 10 in Tianjin.

Tianjin, a major port city near the capital, Beijing, has begun mass testing for its 14 million residents after a group of 20 children and adults tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.

The citywide test began on Sunday and is scheduled to complete over two days. The strict measures come as China prepares for the Winter Olympics that are set to begin on February 4 in Beijing – just an hour from Tianjin by high-speed train.

It was reported that people detained in the city of Xi’an were bartering for food online amid fears of a shortage of supplies.

About 13 million people in the city have been confined to their homes since December 23 when the area was closed overnight after three asymptomatic cases of Covid were discovered.

About 1,800 people have now confirmed symptoms of Covid and are in quarantine along with 42,000 of their close contacts.

Authorities in Xi’an are providing free food to families, but some residents said their supplies are now running out.

They have turned to social media to trade things in, with people exchanging cigarettes for cabbage and washing up liquid for apples.

“People are exchanging things with others in the same building, because they no longer have enough food to eat,” one resident told RFA.

Usually a family member is allowed to run their groceries every two days but many stores are closed and those open do not have enough stock.

Huang Chun, who is in charge of disease control at the Winter Olympics, said organizers will rely on the cooperation of athletes and officials to prevent an outbreak of infection.

“If a mass mass transmission happens, it will definitely affect the games and the schedule,” he said. “The worst-case scenario, if it happens, is independent of human will, so we leave our options open.”

In Hong Kong, where a small number of Omicron cases have been detected, authorities will reportedly ban all international transit passengers from about 150 places. Bloomberg reported that the ban would include air travelers from “Group A” countries, which are considered high-risk.

Hong Kong has already banned passenger flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Britain, the United States, the Philippines and Pakistan.

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