Image: Visual China

BEIJING, January 14 (TMTPOST) — Volkswagen China suspended the operation of its two plants in North China’s Tianjin city on Monday amid the recent outbreak of the coronavirus infections in the city.

The two plants in Tianjin that were shut down are VW Automatic Transmission Tianjin component factory and FAW-VW vehicle plant. The staff at the two plants have undergone two rounds of covid test this week and is currently waiting for the test results.

"Both plants have conducted Covid-19 testing twice for all employees this week and are waiting for the results. We hope to resume production very soon and catch up with lost production. The top priority remains the health and well-being of our employees."

Tianjin is a metropolitan in North China. A total number of 41 domestically transmitted infections have been reported in the city on Wednesday, an increase of 33 from a day earlier.

China has been seeing a resurgence of coronavirus cases in the past few months. As of January 12, 2022, a total number of 190 cases were reported in the country, 66 of which are imported cases. Tianjin has been hit with the more transmissible Omicron variant. The outbreak in the city has spread to Dalian city in Northeast China.

The local authorities in Tianjin have adopted measures to control the pandemic, imposing restrictions on movements within the city and outside.

Although China already has a vaccination rate as high as 86%, the country still adopts a zero-covid policy. Local authorities would adopt strict measures to control the pandemic, such as setting up quarantine zones, conducting city-wide mass testing and travel restrictions. Around 23.5% of the population in China have received a booster shot, according to Chinese pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan.

Xi’an, one of the worst-hit cities in China in the recent resurgence, has been undergoing city-wide lockdown. Businesses have suspended operation and the city’s residents are undergoing pandemic lockdown at their homes.