Beijing locks down office building with workers still inside over single Omicron case
 At an office building in China's capital on Sunday, Covid control personnel lugged boxes of pillows and bedding through the closely guarded entrance for workers stuck inside, preparing for what may be days of lockdown as Beijing rushes to prevent the spread of Omicron ahead of the Winter Olympics.
The building in the west of the city has been sealed off, with everybody inside subject to compulsory mass Covid testing, since an employee tested positive for Omicron on Saturday — the city's first recorded case of the highly transmissible variant.
For the past week, officials in Beijing had been on high alert as an Omicron outbreak spread in Tianjin, a major port city just 30 minutes away by high-speed rail. The cluster had already spread to two other cities hundreds of miles away.
According to detailed surveillance data collected by officials, the Beijing woman infected with Omicron had not been in contact with any confirmed cases and hadn't left the capital in the past 14 days, raising fears the variant may already be spreading in the community.
Unlike most of the world, China is pursuing a zero-Covid strategy that relies on stringent restrictions including mass testing, lockdowns and long quarantine for international arrivals.
The single case in Beijing has been identified at the worst possible time for the city, as it prepares to welcome thousands of athletes for the Olympics — including from countries where Omicron is raging.
The risk of the variant spreading among the local Beijing population outside its so-called Olympic bubble — intended to keep participants separate from the wider public — comes as authorities warned of the "double pressure of domestic and imported cases."
After the woman's case was confirmed, authorities sprang into action, imposing uncompromising snap lockdowns — trapping people in places such as office blocks — and extensive contact tracing and testing in high-risk areas.
The residential compound where the confirmed case lives is just 15 minutes' drive from Olympic Park. The entire community has since been sealed off while people get tested and authorities conduct environmental sampling. CNN staff who drove past the complex over the weekend saw large barriers in place to prevent anybody from coming or going.
The residents inside are allowed fresh air, in contrast to stricter lockdowns in other parts of the country that confine people to their apartments — but they can't leave the community limits. Trash is beginning to pile up inside the complex, with only specially-designated disposal teams permitted to handle it. Many nearby businesses are closed.
The woman's workplace has been similarly locked down, with large tents set up outside to conduct and process Covid tests for everybody inside until the building is declared safe to reopen.
In another sign of the zealous official response, the woman's travel history was published in state media, with extensive detail on everywhere she went within a two-week period. The long list includes subway stations, public bathrooms, a supermarket, a luxury shopping center and Dior store, a famous Peking duck restaurant, a cinema, a hair salon, a stand-up comedy venue, and even a ski park.
More than 16,000 people linked to those locations have been tested with all results coming back negative so far, authorities said on Monday — and the city has yet to report any further cases. At a news conference, authorities raised the possibility the woman might have contracted the virus after handling international mail.
Chinese officials have repeatedly blamed imported goods for causing local outbreaks. However, the risk of surface transmission of Covid-19 is low in comparison to airborne transmission, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus dies "rapidly" on porous surfaces but can persist longer on hard, indoor surfaces, the CDC said last year.
After news of the single Beijing case emerged, many schools in affected districts moved students to online learning this week, and the city has closed a number of scenic spots and temples. Starting January 22, all arrivals to the capital must undergo Covid testing both in advance and after arrival.
And despite the imminent arrival of thousands of Winter Olympians for the start of the Games on February 4, Beijing has moved to suspend dozens of international flights. From Wednesday, all flights from the United States to China have been either canceled or are likely to be suspended.
Athletes and staff are mostly taking special flights restricted to people with Olympic credentials as part of the "closed loop" bubble, which covers all stadiums, competition venues, accommodation and catering, and has its own transport system.
Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, said the situation was still difficult to gauge since authorities don't know where the woman was infected. "It is very possible that new cases will emerge if the cause is unclear," he said, according to state-run tabloid Global Times.
Though any additional infections could spark more restrictions in the coming days, there is no need to overreact to a single case, which wouldn't impact the Olympics, Wang added.
The Beijing public seemed to share his sentiments, with crowds turning out for winter festivities over the weekend in sharp contrast to the localized lockdowns in some districts. On Sunday, many families flocked to a popular lake to ice skate on its frozen waters.
In addition to Beijing, a growing list of cities across China are also struggling to tamp down Covid outbreaks and the Omicron threat. The variant was first detected in the community in Tianjin on January 8 and has since been found in seven other cities, including Beijing.
Many cities are now imposing restrictions such as shutting down public spaces and banning dine-in services at restaurants, as well as suspending air travel to the capital.
Posts and videos on Chinese social media show several targeted snap lockdowns in Shanghai last week, trapping whoever was unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity. In one mall, shoppers were stuck for two days, with officials testing everybody inside and ordering a deep clean before reopening.
One video posted on social media showed a woman outside the mall, crying and reaching out to a small toddler staring back from behind its glass doors.
The measures may seem extreme — but they remain broadly popular among much of the Chinese public, the vast majority of whom are able to enjoy life as normal.
And with such high stakes, authorities aren't taking any chances, knowing all eyes are focused on Beijing as the Games approach.  Jessie Yeung is a Digital Producer for CNN International in Hong Kong. She writes breaking news and features about the Asia-Pacific region.   Bundled up for the Games Embroidered snowflakes, mountains and clouds are featured in these outfits, which will be worn by staff at the medal ceremonies of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. The outfits also incorporate elements of traditional Chinese clothing like the cross collar, according to Games organizers. China's birth rate plummeted for a fifth consecutive year to hit a new record low in 2021, despite government efforts to encourage couples to have more children in the face of a looming demographic crisis.
The world's most populous country recorded 10.62 million births last year, or only 7.5 births per 1,000 people, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics — marking the lowest level since the founding of Communist China in 1949.
The number of births was just enough to outnumber deaths, with the population growing by 480,000 to 1.4126 billion. The natural growth rate fell to 0.034%, the lowest since China's great famine from 1959 to 1961, which killed tens of millions of people and led to a population decline.
New births in 2021 dropped 11.6% from 12.02 million in 2020 — a gentler decline than the 18% plunge that year, from 14.65 million in 2019. Chinese demographers have warned that if the downward trend continues, China's population could stark shrinking soon.
Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, told state media Monday the decline in births stemmed from a combination of factors, from "a decrease in the number of women of childbearing age, a continued decline in fertility, changes in attitudes toward childbearing and delays of marriage by young people," including due to the pandemic.
The plunging birth rate comes as the Chinese government ramps up efforts to encourage families to have more children, after realizing its decades-long one-child policy had contributed to a rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce that could severely distress the country's economic and social stability.
To arrest the falling birth rate, the Chinese government announced in 2015 that it would allow married couples to have two children. But after a brief uptick in 2016, the national birth rate has been falling year on year, prompting authorities last year to further loosen the policy to three children, as well as offer incentives like cash handouts.
 Nectar Gan is China Reporter for CNN International in Hong Kong. She covers the changes taking place in China, and their impact on the world.  China's economy expanded 8.1% last year, far exceeding the government's own targets. But weakening growth in the closing months of 2021 suggest that trouble is still on the horizon as the country contends with a deepening real estate crisis, renewed Covid outbreaks and Beijing's strict no-tolerance approach to controlling the virus.
That figure is roughly in line, if not slightly higher than, the expectations set by many economists. And it outstrips the Chinese government's target last year for its economy to expand at least 6% for 2021.
But GDP expanded just 4% in the last quarter of the year compared to a year prior. While higher than the 3.6% growth forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts, it's still the slowest pace in a year and a half.
Growth in the fourth quarter was bolstered by industrial production, which rose 4.3% in December from a year earlier — accelerating from November's 3.8% growth.
But consumption dramatically weakened. Retail sales increased just 1.7% in December from a year earlier, sharply lower than November's 3.9% uptick.
China has been contending with a slew of problems recently, including tumult in its property sector and a series of Covid-19 outbreaks.
Troubled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande — which has some $300 billion of total liabilities — has been struggling to pay its debts and was recently ordered to demolish a few dozen buildings in the country. Analysts have been long concerned that a collapse by Evergrande could trigger wider risks for China's property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system.
Beijing's unwavering insistence on stamping out any trace of the coronavirus, meanwhile, is facing a huge test as authorities grapple with Omicron's quickening spread. And an outbreak of the older Delta variant recently forced the industrial hub of Xi'an into lockdown, affecting production lines of global chip makers like Samsung and Micron.
Economists have warned that China's zero-Covid approach to containing the virus could spell serious problems for the economy in 2022. Goldman Sachs, for example, slashed its projection for Chinese economic growth in 2022 to 4.3% from 4.8%, just over half of last year's figure.
Read more on CNN Business.  Laura He is a reporter and digital producer for CNN Business. She covers news about Asian business and markets from Hong Kong. Around Asia
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