China’s E-Commerce Hub Faces Omicron Flareup Before Holidays

  • New omicron cluster found in city that headquarters Alibaba
  • Tianjin finds omicron again after cases had returned to zero
Covid-19 testing at Binjiang District in Hangzhou on Jan. 27.Photographer: Zhu Difeng/VCG/Getty Images
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China’s omicron outbreak spread to its major e-commerce hub days ahead of the Lunar New Year break, the latest of a slew of flareups putting holiday plans for millions of people at risk.

More than a dozen of infections have been detected as of Thursday afternoon in Hangzhou, a city near Shanghai and home to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and fintech giant Ant Group Co. There are concerns that cases may increase after one of the patients attended a company gathering along with several hundred people.