Chinese officials on Thursday reported that at least one person was infected by the contagious coronavirus Omicron variant in Dalian. The first patient is asymptomatic and allegedly contracted the virus in college in the neighbouring city of Tianjin, which had at least 137 new cases on Wednesday. Dalian also reported a second COVID-19 case, but it remained unclear whether it was Omicron.
Dalian, like Tianjin, is one of China’s crucial port cities. Their ports are the world’s top 20, handling a combined throughput of 25 million TEUs in 2020. The two cities are also near the capital Beijing which will host the Winter Olympics in February. Ship-tracking data showed vessels were avoiding virus curbs at the two ports and were diverted to Shanghai, worsening congestion there. Shipping industry sources said the congestion could delay schedules for container vessels by about a week.
Toyota Motor Corp has suspended production in Tianjin since Monday to comply with the government’s mandated testing, according to a spokeswoman. Volkswagen AG has also shut its joint venture plants in recent outbreaks in Tianjin and Ningbo, another Chinese port city. Airbus said its assembly plant in Tianjin had not been affected by the restrictions. Panasonic Corp and Sony Group Corp have operations in Dalian.
The National Health Commission reported 124 local infections on Thursday, including 41 in Tianjin and 76 in Henan province. Another nine infections, including the two in Dalian, showed no symptoms, the commission said. Beijing has told residents to stay put and encouraged them to spend the Lunar New Year holidays at home.
