Mainland China detects first case of Omicron coronavirus variant: state media

By Reuters December 13, 2021 | 06:41 am PT

A medical worker in protective suit collects a swab from a man at a makeshift nucleic acid testing site inside a sports centre in Binhai New Area, in Tianjin, China November 21, 2020. Photo by Reuters

Health authorities in northern China's port city of Tianjin have detected the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country's mainland, the state-run Tianjin Daily reported on Monday.

The infection was discovered in a traveler who arrived in the city from overseas on Dec. 9, the newspaper said, adding that the patient is currently being treated in isolation in hospital.

In the United Kingdom, at least one person has died after contracting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, warning that the variant now accounted for 40 percent of infections in the British capital.