Despite closed borders and very high vaccination rates, the highly transmissible omicron variant has been reported in seven out of 31 provinces and all of China’s biggest cities after it was first detected December 9, 2021
China’s first community outbreak of Omicron was detected in the city of Tianjin on Jan 8, 2022 in 2 patients, prompting ab immediate government lockdown of the local districts followed by large-scale screening. 41 positive cases were reported as of Jan 11, the source of the transmission is unknown, and the virus is still spreading.
China, which is set to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing starting February 4th, has adopted a “zero-covid” policy, which if an infection is detected it triggers strict control measures such as city lockdowns, factory shutdowns and delivery standstills, including the shut down of ports. These strict measure have an onflow effect to the global supply chain. [1, 2]