China’s Tianjin orders more testing of 14 million residents

BEIJING (AP) — The northern Chinese city of Tianjin has ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing of all 14 million residents after dozens of cases of the omicron strain were found during initial screenings. The official Xinhua News Agency says authorities have carried out almost 12 million tests so far. Infections were first reported on Saturday in the city that is only about an hour from Beijing, which is to host the Winter Olympics from Feb. 4. The city’s COVID-19 prevention and control office says all 97 locally transmitted cases were of the omicron variant. China has so far reported only a relatively small number of omicron cases. Millions more people are under lockdown in other Chinese cities.