What’s new: A city of 3.6 million in southwestern China’s Guangxi was locked down Monday after 99 Covid-19 cases were reported in three days in the latest flare-up rattling the country.
In just 24 hours starting Sunday afternoon, 56 new cases were confirmed in Baise, bringing the total case count to 99 since Feb. 4, local health authorities said Monday. Two of the earliest cases in Baise were confirmed as the omicron variant.
City authorities ordered all residents to stay home. Public transportation and nonessential services in the city were suspended.
The context: Baise, on the border with Vietnam, is the latest Chinese city battling the resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks. Cities including Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Anyang in Henan have adopted drastic lockdown measures over the past two months to contain the highly transmissible delta and omicron variants.
China is sticking with its zero tolerance policy for fighting the virus, although increasing mobility and gatherings during the Lunar New Year and the Winter Olympics have made it especially difficult to rein in the virus.
The Baise outbreak emerged during the Lunar New Year holiday last week when a person tested positive more than a week after returning from Shenzhen in late January.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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