Omicron, delta variants prompt lockdown in 1 more Chinese region

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - One more region in China’s central Henan province has been put under lockdown on Wednesday after a surge in local COVID-19 cases, driven by the delta and omicron variants.

In a statement, the country’s National Health Commission said that China recorded 221 new cases on Tuesday and that 166 of them were locally transmitted.

The Henan province alone recorded 118 cases over the past day, prompting authorities to put the Huaxian county under lockdown, according to the Chinese daily Global Times.

The northern Tianjin city recorded 33 cases amid lockdown measures and mass testing.

On Tuesday, authorities moved fast to impose a lockdown in the Anyang city, when two cases of omicron variant were discovered in the city.

Anyang reported 123 COVID-19 cases until this morning while authorities are launching a fresh round of testing.

China has reported 104,189 COVID-19 cases, including 4,636 deaths, since the first cases reported in December 2019.