China has imposed emergency measures to prevent people from being infected with a strain of the Omicron coronavirus that has been detected in the major port city of Tianjin, the Associated Press reported.

The situation occurred less than a month before the opening of the Winter Olympics in neighboring Beijing. The government has divided Tianjin and its 14 million residents into three levels of restrictions, starting with closed zones where people are not allowed to leave their homes at all.

In the control zones, each household is allowed one family member to go shopping for groceries every other day, while in the prevention zones, people must stay in the immediate vicinity.

Buses and trains from Tianjin to Beijing have been suspended, and people are advised not to leave the city unless they have urgent business.

On Sunday, Jan. 9, the city began mass testing all of its residents after a group of 40 children and adults tested positive for Covid-19. Some of them were found to have the Omicron strain.

Those infected were identified ahead of the Olympics, which begin Feb. 4 in Beijing. The Chinese capital is just 115 kilometers northwest of Tianjin, and many people regularly travel back and forth by highway or high-speed rail.

Another 60 cases have been reported in Henan province, two of which relate to a variant of Omicron found in the city of Anyang and apparently brought from Tianjin by a college student. Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, conducted mass testing and closed its schools.

Omicron, which has had a significant impact on many areas, especially tourism, was first identified in South Africa. This strain of coronavirus is characterized by a large number of mutations.

Recall that Cypriot scientists have identified a new strain of coronavirus - a hybrid of Delta and Omicron strains. Because of this, it was named "Deltacron". The new strain has a genetic basis like "Delta". At the same time, the variant has mutations inherent to Omicron as well.