Beijing reports 1st local omicron case ahead of Olympics

By ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start. The infected person lives and works in the city’s northwestern district of Haidian and had no travel history outside of Beijing for the past two weeks. Officials say the individual experienced symptoms on Thursday and was tested on Friday for the coronavirus. The news of the infection comes less than three weeks before the Winter Olympic Games’ opening ceremony on Feb 4., and around two weeks before the start of the Lunar New Year celebrations in China. So far, multiple cities in China have reported omicron infections, including in southern Guangdong province as well as the city of Tianjin, which is 30 minutes from Beijing by high-speed rail.