China Locks Down More Than 45 Million People

“China saw more than 5,000 new Covid-19 infections for the first time since the early days of the pandemic, as outbreaks of the highly contagious omicron variant prompt officials to lock down more cities and impose further restrictions,” Bloomberg reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Chinese local health officials say the surge in cases has been driven by the more infectious but milder Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which often infects and spreads without any obvious symptoms and can break through full vaccination. While the Omicron variant is less threatening for individual patients, it makes detecting and then tracking cases more difficult.”