China on Monday cancelled plans to sell tickets to the public for the Winter Olympics in Beijing, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country reached its highest since March 2020.

Organisers said last year there would be no international spectators at the Games -- partly due to China's weeks-long quarantine requirements -- but they had promised to allow domestic audiences.

But those plans were scrapped on Monday as China reported 223 new infections just three weeks before the Winter Olympics are set to open.

"In order to protect the health and safety of Olympic-related personnel and spectators, it was decided to adjust the original plan to sell tickets to the public and (instead) organise spectators to watch the Games on-site," the Beijing Olympic organising committee said in a statement.

It is unclear how these spectators will be selected and whether they will have to quarantine before or after the Games.

China, where the virus first emerged in late 2019, has stuck to a strict policy of targeting zero Covid cases even as the rest of the world has reopened.

But its approach has come under sustained pressure in recent weeks with multiple virus clusters in key areas including the port of Tianjin and the southern manufacturing region of Guangdong.

Athletes and officials have already started to land in the capital ahead of the Games, immediately entering a tightly controlled bubble separating them from the rest of the population.

After a local case of the highly infectious Omicron strain was detected in Beijing over the weekend, authorities also tightened regulations for arrivals from elsewhere in China.

The capital is now demanding a negative test before travel and a follow-up test after entering, with residents urged not to leave the city for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Some tourist sites have also been closed.

- Mail threat -

A senior health official told residents to "avoid buying goods from overseas" after saying the local case could have been brought in by international post.

The infected woman in Beijing had not travelled or had contact with other infected people, authorities said as they tested 13,000 people living or working in the same area.

Health official Pang Xinghuo told reporters the virus had been found on the surface of a letter the infected person had received from Canada.

Dozens of letters from the same batch were tested and five showed traces of Covid-19, Pang said.

The strain was different from Omicron cases in China, and similar to variants identified from North America last month, she added.

"We come to the conclusion that the possibility of virus infection through inbound objects cannot be ruled out."

Therefore, residents should "try to avoid buying goods from overseas during outbreaks", Pang said.

"If you receive overseas mail, you should wear masks and disposable gloves to reduce direct contact."

She advised people to "open the packages outdoors".

China has linked a number of its virus clusters to products imported from overseas.

A theory from Beijing that the virus did not originate in China but was imported in frozen food was judged "possible" but very unlikely in a report last year by international experts appointed by the World Health Organization.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States says on its website it is "possible" for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects -- but the risk is low.

Within three days, there should be a 99 percent reduction in any virus traces left on surfaces.

Analysts have warned that China's zero-Covid approach -- which includes targeted lockdowns and travel restrictions -- will increasingly weigh on the economy.

Some 68 Covid cases were reported on Monday across central Henan province, where partial lockdowns and mass testing have been rolled out for millions of residents.

Chinese cities battle Covid as Winter Olympics loom
Beijing (AFP) Jan 17, 2022 - China is battling Omicron and Delta outbreaks in several cities, testing the country's strict "zero-Covid" strategy just weeks before Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics.

Here's a rundown of the measures in place in key areas of the world's most populous nation.

- Tianjin -

Tianjin is home to China's largest domestic Omicron cluster to date, with almost 300 local cases reported since the highly transmissible variant was first discovered over a week ago.

Officials have not yet identified the source of the outbreak, as the city completed a third round of mass testing on its 14 million residents last week.

Authorities have stopped short of ordering a complete lockdown of the city, an important industrial manufacturing and port hub. Last week, carmakers Toyota and Volkswagen shut down their factories in the city.

Affected districts have been locked down since last week, with locals unable to leave their homes. Residents cannot leave the city without official permission.

The Tianjin outbreak is noteworthy because of the city's proximity to Beijing just 150 kilometres (90 miles) away.

Authorities have stepped up controls over transport links to the capital, with trains cancelled and highway checkpoints installed.

The Tianjin outbreak has already spread to Anyang in Henan province and the coastal port of Dalian, Liaoning province.

- Beijing -

Tensions are running high after the capital's first local transmission of the Omicron variant was reported on Saturday, just weeks before the Winter Olympics are due to start.

The city is now demanding a negative test before travel and a follow-up test after entering the city, with residents urged not to leave the city for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Some major tourist attractions have been closed, as authorities tested over 13,000 people working and living in the affected areas.

The capital has sealed off its Winter Olympics "closed loop", which will cocoon thousands of athletes and Games staff for weeks without direct physical access to the outside world.

- Guangdong -

The southern province, home to several major manufacturing hubs in the heavily populated Pearl River Delta, is battling simultaneous Omicron and Delta outbreaks in at least four cities, leading to targeted lockdowns and mass testing.

Authorities reported nine new local cases in the province Monday, spread across the cities of Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Meizhou and Zhongshan.

The major tech hub of Shenzhen has logged a handful of cases of the Delta variant since last week, while it reported its first Omicron infection Sunday.

Authorities have linked both outbreaks to workers in the international supply chain, as delays have built up at the city's Yantian cargo port -- one of China's busiest.

The coastal city of Zhuhai, bordering the gambling hub Macau, has ordered mass testing for its residents and urged them not to leave the city unless necessary, since it first reported seven Omicron cases on Friday.

All tourist attractions were closed and long-distance bus and water transport routes suspended.

A handful of positive cases have also been discovered in the city of Zhongshan, near Shenzhen, since last week, leading to travel restrictions and the suspension of public transport.

- Henan -

Several cities in the central province of Henan -- which lies near Xi'an -- have strengthened virus controls in response to hundreds of new infections since late December.

The province reported 68 new local transmissions Monday, with 60 in the hotspot city of Anyang, seven in Xuchang and one in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.

Zhengzhou has imposed a partial lockdown and ordered its nearly 13 million residents to get tested.

Meanwhile, the cities of Anyang and Yuzhou have been placed under lockdown, affecting around six million residents.

In Anyang, all commercial stores and takeout restaurants were ordered to close except to ensure the supply of daily living materials.

- Xi'an -

The historic city of 13 million people is in its fourth week of a strict lockdown as it races to contain a 2,000-case outbreak, one of the largest in China for months.

Residents may not leave their homes or travel out of the city, famed for its Terracotta Warriors.

Local authorities have come under fire for their handling of a lockdown that has included supply issues and medical tragedies.

Cases have slowed to single-digit figures in recent days.

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