China reports 1st community spread of omicron

China has reported its first omicron cases in the community in the northern city of Tianjin, with two people confirmed with the new COVID-19 variant, authorities said on Sunday.

Chang Ying, the assistant director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Tianjin, said that 18 new infections related to the two identified cases of the omicron variant were found in at least three transmission chains, adding that they estimated that the variant began spreading earlier than detected.

According to local media, 15 of the 18 people diagnosed with the infection are primary school students attending the same school and research center.

Due to community spread, mass testing will be carried out in the city having a population of 13.8 million.

China has recorded more than 115,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 4,900 related-deaths, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University. The country is not including the number of asymptomatic cases to its infection count.