China has reported its first omicron cases in the community in the northern city of Tianjin, with two people confirmed in the northern city of Tianjin, with two people confirmed with the new COVID-19 variant, authorities said on Sunday.

Chang Ying, the assistant director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Tianjin, said that 18 new infections related to the two identified cases of the omicron variant were found in at least three transmission chains, adding that they have estimated the variant have started to begun spreading earlier than detected.

According to the local media, 15 of the 18 people diagnosed with the infection are in primary school attending the same school and research center.

Due to community spread, mass testing will now be carried out in the city, with 13.8 million.

According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, China has recorded more than 115,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 4,900 related deaths. The country has not included the number of asymptomatic cases in its infection count.