China faces gravest COVID outbreak in two years

Chinese health authorities reported 3,393 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, as the country faces its gravest coronavirus outbreak in two years.

A nationwide surge in COVID cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several cities. Almost 19 provinces are battling outbreaks of the Omicron and Delta variants.

The city of Jilin has been partially locked down, with more than 500 cases of the Omicron variant being reported.

The neighbouring city of Changchun – an industrial base of nine million people – was locked down on Friday.

“[The outbreak] reflects that the spread of the Omicron variant is hidden, highly contagious, rapid and difficult to detect in the early stages,” Jilin health official Zhang Yan said at a press briefing.

“It also reflects the rapid rise of the virus situation in individual regions and the lack of expansion capacity of medical resources, resulting in limited centralised admission and treatment in a short period of time.”

The mayor of Jilin and the head of the Changchun health commission were dismissed from their jobs Saturday, state media reported.

The smaller cities of Siping and Dunhua, both in Jilin province, were locked down on Thursday and Friday, according to officials announcements.

Hunchun city, bordering Russia and North Korea, was locked down March 1, local authorities said.