Stealth Omicron fuels COVID-19 surge in China

Chinese authorities reported 1,337 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 across dozens of mainland cities Monday as “stealth omicron” fuels China’s biggest outbreak in two years.

The vast majority of the new cases were in far northeastern Jilin province with 895.

Shenzhen reported 75 new cases as residents began the first of three rounds of mass testing.

Officials on Sunday locked down the city, which has 17.5 million people and is a major tech and finance hub that neighbours Hong Kong.

The surge on the Chinese mainland is infecting people in cities ranging from Shenzhen to Qingdao on the coast, to Xingtai in the north.

The numbers have crept steadily higher since early March and they are the highest since the first big outbreak of COVID-19 in the central city of Wuhan in early 2020.

China has seen very few infections since its strict Wuhan lockdown as the government held fast to its zero-tolerance strategy.

The strategy relies on strict lockdowns and mandatory quarantines for anyone who has come into contact with a positive case.

The government has indicated it will continue to stick to its strict strategy of stopping transmission for the time being.