China’s Tianjin city started a new round of Covid-19 testing on Wednesday among its 14 million residents to combat the spread of Omicron. However, some analysts feel the upcoming restrictions could slow China’s economic growth.
There were 33 confirmed coronavirus infections in Tianjin on Tuesday, up from 10 a day earlier, according to national data. Companies and other organizations were ordered to give their employees Wednesday a half-day off and required them to stay at home as part of the city’s second round of mass testing, the local government said.
On Tuesday, the number of symptomatic cases in Anyang, a central city where Omicron has also been detected, surged from two to 65 from just two a day earlier.
The number of cases in Anyang and Tianjin is small compared to many outbreaks outside China. Overall numbers of Omicron infections are uncertain. While mass testing campaigns are underway, the two cities have restricted residents’ movements within the cities and made it harder for them to leave.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley also said they saw downside risk to their forecast of growth in the first quarter this year, as Omicron could “imply more costs than benefits under China’s Covid-zero strategy”.
Extinguishing clusters rapidly has become even more important in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, which begin in Beijing and nearby Hebei province on February 4, as well as the Lunar New Year holiday travel season, which begins later this month.
Counting cases in Tianjin and Anyang, mainland China reported 166 local symptoms on Tuesday, up from 110 the previous day.
The death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. In mainland China, 104,189 symptomatic cases had been confirmed as of January 11, including both local and international cases.
