Mainland China reports first case of Omicron coronavirus variant

Mainland China has reported its first case of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in the northern city of Tianjin, posing what could be the biggest threat to date to the country’s zero-Covid strategy.

The Chinese authorities reported on Monday that the Omicron case was detected on 9 December from an overseas returnee, who showed no symptoms on arrival. The patient is being quarantined and treated in a designated hospital.

At the same time, the eastern province of Zhejiang has been battling a rise in new infections of the Delta variant in recent weeks.

Cases of Omicron – first detected in South Africa and labelled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization – have now been reported in more than 50 countries. At least one person in the UK has died with Omicron, Boris Johnson said on Monday.

Experts say that if not properly controlled, the variant could upend Beijing’s strategy to fully contain the pandemic. Since last year, the method has guaranteed Chinese citizens a largely virus-free life, but it has also been met with criticism by some medical professionals, who argued for an alternative plan to coexist with the virus with a sufficient vaccination rate.Advertisement

The first Omicron case in Tianjin comes as nearby Beijing gears up for the Winter Olympics, which are to be held in February. The Guardian understands the patient has no association with the Games.

The arrival of the Omicron variant also coincided with Zhejiang – a province of 65 million people – battling against its first domestic cluster outbreak this year.