Beijing faces growing Covid-19 outbreak Before the 2022 Winter Olympics

Shoppers with permits walk to a supermarket in Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province. The first commercial airline flights in one month took off Saturday (Jan 22, 2022) from Xi'an in western China as the government eased travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing. - AP

BEIJING, Jan 22 (Bloomberg): China’s capital reported a growing Covid-19 cluster linked to imported frozen food and international mail, putting greater pressure on authorities to contain the spread two weeks before the start of the Winter Olympic Games.

Beijing reported 12 Covid infections on Friday (Jan 21), bringing the total to nearly two dozen since last Saturday. While the number is negligible compared with the rampant infections seen elsewhere in the world, any tiny flareup is met with aggressive containment efforts in the highly guarded city.