Tianjin tightens control over travel as Omicron spreads

The northern Chinese city of Tianjin, with around 14 million people, has tightened exit control and now requires residents to obtain approval from employers or communities before leaving town and a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure.

The coastal city reported 21 domestically transmitted cases on Sunday, the National Health Commission said on Monday, up from three a day earlier.

Tianjin said over the weekend it detected two local Omicron infections. The city government announced the new exit rules in a statement late on Sunday.

In central Henan Province, the city of Anyang detected two local Omicron infections, and the city's outbreak could be traced back to a student arriving from Tianjin, a local paper said on Monday.

It remained unclear how many other local cases in Tianjin and Anyang were Omicron infection.

Anyang, with 5.5 million residents, suspended all its bus services from Sunday.