A Chinese court has sentenced three port workers to up to 57 months in prison for violating Covid-19 containment rules, as authorities intensify efforts to stamp out the virus through lockdowns and restrictions on movement.

Three workers at a company handling imported goods in the northeastern port city of Dalian have been sentenced to 39 to 57 months in prison for violating Covid containment measures, including not requiring employees to wear masks and protective clothing when handling goods in 2020.

The company was also fined 800,000 yuan ($126,000) after the breach led to an outbreak in the city, court documents show.

As Chinese authorities tighten restrictions on areas affected by the Omicron outbreak to pursue Zero Outbreak Strategy.

authorities in TianjinThe city 14m about 120km east of Beijing ordered another round of mandatory testing for all residents on Wednesday after 36 new symptomatic cases were detected, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Authorities on Tuesday placed Anyang, a city of 5 million, from Blocking After the discovery of two cases of Omicron variants spreading from Tianjin.

The central Chinese city of Xi’an, with a population of 13 million, has been under strict lockdown measures since last month, leading some residents to complain shortage of food.

Blockade threatens Disrupting global supply chains, the company warned of potential risks to manufacturing.

Japanese automaker Toyota said it had stopped production at a factory in Tianjin until the safety of the local community and business partners was confirmed.

Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology have previously warn Covid restrictions could disrupt their chip manufacturing operations in Xi’an.

Spread of Omicron in Asia Frederick Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC, warned that the disruption to supply chains could be even bigger than the previous wave.

“Given the extremely contagious nature of this variant, the risk of major outbreaks is rising across the region. Even Hong Kong and mainland China, protected by some of the harshest external quarantines in the world, see Omicron’s defenses,” he said. Say.

Dalian’s harsh punishment reflects China’s claims that the new coronavirus may be Spread through imported frozen goods and packaging. The claims are politically sensitive and form the basis of the government’s argument that the virus may not have originated in the country.

China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday reported 166 new local symptomatic cases and four local asymptomatic cases, which were classified separately.

Additional reporting by Maiqi Ding in Beijing, Eri Sugiura in Tokyo and Edward White in Auckland