Authorities in the Chinese port city of Tianjin have ordered some 14 million of its residents to be tested for COVID-19 after detecting new infections, including cases of the Omicron variant. The municipal government reported 31 new cases on Monday and another 21 on Tuesday. It also initiated partial lockdowns in two towns in the Xiqing District. Tianjin’s lockdowns followed similar measures in Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Anyang in Henan province, which has been China’s latest COVID-19 epicentre.
Industry sources said there were concerns that the lockdown could disrupt logistics operations in Tianjin, home to the world’s ninth-largest port in terms of cargo throughput. They said that the de-vanning and delivery of container cargoes at the Port of Tianjin had been suspended by January 9. They also warned of stalled inland supply chains due to localised lockdowns in the area.
However, the port told state media Global Times that it had tested thousands of workers and that operations had so far been unaffected by the restrictions. A Tianjin-based freight forwarder noted in the report that the customs clearance continued running normally. South Korea’s LG also stated that its factories in Tianjin remained unaffected by the lockdowns. Tianjin port reported a cargo throughput of 435 million tons in 2020, the ninth-highest in the world.
