Dec 14, 2021: China experiences Outbreak in three Zhejiang cities – Ningbo, Shaoxing and Hangzhou. The recent outbreak was developing at a ‘relatively rapid’ speed as 50,000 people are placed under quarantine.

China’s largest manufacturing province, Zhejiang, is battling its first COVID-19 cluster this year, with tens of thousands of citizens in quarantine and virus-affected areas suspending business, reducing flights and canceling events. The news came as health officials reported the country’s first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the northern port city of Tianjin.

Tianjin Daily reported on Monday that the Omicron infection was discovered in a passenger who arrived in the city from abroad on December 9, adding that the patient was currently being treated in solitary confinement at the hospital.

On Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported 37 additional verified COVID-19 cases transmitted locally in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang, bringing the total number of locally transmitted confirmed cases in the city to 144.

Earlier, on December 12, 74 symptomatic cases were reported locally across Zhejiang Province – almost double the previous day’s 38 cases.

Health authorities also reported that some of the new cases are said to be from the new Delta strain, “sub-lineage AY.4”, according to Xinhua.

Prior to the current outbreak, Zhejiang – home to a host of small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which are exporters – reported only one local case in 2021. More than a dozen Chinese listed companies said they had suspended production due to strict COVID-19 restrictions in parts of Zhejiang.

Many outbreaks in dozens of Chinese cities this year have been smaller than abroad, but local governments have been asked to make sure that infections are detected and controlled as soon as possible to prevent further outbreaks.

Flights from Ningbo Lishe International Airport to Shenzhen have been suspended since Sunday, while flights to Beijing have been canceled since December 6. Only one flight a day is allowed from the Chinese capital, Hangzhou.

In Zhejiang, more than 50,000 people have been quarantined at central facilities and the health of about half a million people has been monitored, a provincial health official said on Monday. The coastal province has a population of 64.6 million.