Lockdown due to COVID-19 (Omicron) in Baise, China, near Vietnam

In a Feb. 7 article in the South China Morning Post, at least 98 infections with SARS-CoV-2, initially identified as the highly contagious Omicron variant, were reported in the city of Baise in southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region near Vietnam. One of the key industries in Baise is aluminum. Thus, supply chains for aluminum could be in jeopardy if the lockdown is long term.

This new outbreak and subsequent lockdown, like others recently in Chinese urban areas, emphasize the challenge that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant poses for China’s “dynamic zero-COVID policy.”

On Feb. 8, another 72 infections were identified by ongoing mass testing in Baise. The South China Morning Post published a short online video of the lockdown in the city. The accompanying text states:

The city of Baise in southwestern China has put 3.6 million residents under strict lockdown as mass testing was conducted for more than 207,000 people in the community in Debao county where the first infected patient lives. The city in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region reported 72 of the total 73 cases confirmed across the nation on February 8, 2022. Health officials described the situation in Baise as “very serious.” Full controls on the flow of traffic and a ban on all movements of people were in place as authorities responded to the outbreak.