China battles multiple COVID-19 outbreaks, driven by stealth omicron

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chinese authorities reported 1,337 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 across dozens of mainland cities Monday as the fast-spreading variant commonly known as "stealth omicron" fuels China's biggest outbreak in two years. The vast majority of the new cases — 895 — were in far northeastern Jilin province, where the COVID-19 task force effectively banned movement throughout the province. People can leave the province or travel from one city to another only with permission from the police, according to the government notice. The surge is infecting people in cities ranging from Shenzhen to Qingdao on the coast, to…