Associated Press:COVID-19 cases more than double in China’s growing outbreak

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BEIJING (AP) — China’s new COVID-19 cases Tuesday more than doubled from the previous day as the country faces by far its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

© Provided by Associated Press A medical worker takes swab sample from a resident for COVID-19 test in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province Tuesday, March 15, 2022. China’s new COVID-19 cases Tuesday more than doubled from the previous day as it faces by far its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. (Chinatopix via AP)

The National Health Commission said 3,507 new locally spread cases had been identified in the latest 24-hour period, up from 1,337 a day earlier.

© Provided by Associated Press A man walks across an empty road during the fourth day of a city wide lock down in Changchun in northeastern China’s Jilin province Monday, March 14, 2022. China banned most people from leaving the coronavirus-hit northeastern province and mobilized military reservists Monday as the fast-spreading “stealth omicron” variant fuels the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic two years ago. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT

A fast-spreading variant known as “stealth omicron” is testing China’s zero-tolerance strategy, which had kept the virus at bay since the deadly initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in early 2020. While the numbers are low compared to elsewhere in the world, the more than 10,000 cases China recorded in the first two weeks of March far exceed previous flare-ups.

© Provided by Associated Press A medical worker takes a swab sample from a child for Covid-19 testing in a community in Changzhou in eastern China’s Jiangsu province Monday, March 14, 2022. China banned most people from leaving a coronavirus-hit northeastern province and mobilized military reservists Monday as the fast-spreading “stealth omicron” variant fuels the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic two years ago. (Chinatopix via AP)

No new deaths have been reported in the multiple outbreaks across China. Most of the new cases were in northeast China’s Jilin province, where 2,601 were reported. Smaller outbreaks have hit more than a dozen provinces and major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

© Provided by Associated Press Residents walk their dog past shuttered shops in the Huaqiangbei area, the world’s biggest electronics market, in Shenzhen, southern China’s Guangdong province Monday, March 14, 2022. Officials on Sunday locked down Shenzhen due to rising coronavirus infections, which has 17.5 million people and is a major tech and finance hub that borders Hong Kong. (Chinatopix Via AP)

Jilin has barred residents from leaving the province and from traveling between cities within it. The 9 million residents of Changchun, the provincial capital and an auto manufacturing hub, have been locked down since Friday as authorities conduct repeated rounds of mass testing both there and in the city of Jilin.

© Provided by Associated Press Residents wear masks as they enjoy the outdoors on Monday, March 14, 2022, in Beijing. China’s mainland reported 1,337 domestically transmitted COVID cases Monday across dozens of cities, part of a surge driven by the variant commonly known as “stealth omicron,” with the vast majority of cases reported in far northeastern Jilin province. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

More than 1,000 medical workers have been flown in from other provinces along with pandemic response supplies, and the province has mobilized 7,000 military reservists to help with the response.

© Provided by Associated Press A woman wearing a mask walks by shuttered shops in Huaqiangbei area, the world’s biggest electronics market, in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province Monday, March 14, 2022. Officials on Sunday locked down Shenzhen due to rising coronavirus infections, which has 17.5 million people and is a major tech and finance hub that borders Hong Kong. (Chinatopix Via AP)

Elsewhere in China, Shandong province had the most new cases with 106. Guangdong province in the southeast, where the metropolis and major tech center of Shenzhen has been locked down since Sunday, reported 48 new cases. Shanghai had nine, and Beijing reported six.