China battles multiple outbreaks amid 'stealth Omicron' wave

China has reported more than 5,200 new Covid cases for the first time since the early days of the pandemic as the country battles multiple outbreaks driven by the highly contagious ‘stealth Omicron’ varian. As per reports,several cities have gone under lockdown, imposing fresh restrictions. While not a large number if compared globally, it’s a significant tally for Beijing which has kept the numbers low for most part of the last two years through a strict "Zero Covid" strategy that is now being challenged. A fast-spreading variant known as “stealth Omicron” is reportedly causing this unprecedented surge in daily Covid cases in China. The 'stealth Omicron' - or the BA.2 sub-variant, is 1.5 times more transmissible than the original Omicron strain, studies suggest.

Lockdowns in China are spreading with the city of Langfang, located just 55 kilometres from Beijing, joining Shenzhen and Shanghai in imposing restrictions to stem a recent surge in Covid-19 infections. Several provinces have halted their public transport networks halted as million residents were ordered to limit their movements. Lockdowns are disrupting the operations of a raft of businesses, with more than 40 million people restricted from leaving their homes. The biggest maker of Apple Inc. iPhones is halting production at its Shenzhen sites while output has been disrupted at plants making cars for Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG, news agency Bloomberg reported.