13 million people were locked down in the city of Xi'an on Monday, after three cases of Covid-19 were enough for Chinese authorities to lock down a city of almost 1.2 million people.
Beijing is holding on to its zero- Covid strategy, despite the fact that local officials are facing sanctions or dismissals over an outbreak.
All residents were ordered to stay inside and the residential communities were told to post sentries at the gates. Some parts of the city allow people to enter but not leave, while others don't.
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How long can China keep up its zero-covid strategy?
China's zero-covid strategy is to protect public health.
All shops, entertainment and leisure venues have been closed because of the suspension of public transport. Only businesses that can guarantee the supply of daily life materials can operate.
In Shaanxi province, there is a harsh lock down in place for almost two weeks, including the requirement for negative tests before an individual can seek medical care. The city has put tens of thousands of people inQuarantine since early December. Positive cases are taken to hospitals for treatment. Communist party authorities demanded that local officials strictly and properly implement restrictions on Tuesday, despite the fact that the strict response had drawn some concern and complaints.
The provincial head of the party in Shaanxi, which is the capital of the province, said that the work needs to be strengthened.
The epidemic control effort is at a critical point. He was quoted as saying in an article published by the government that they would rather identify groups at risk than overlook a single person.
Mass testing should be conducted in key areas of the city and household doors should be watched to make sure people are following travel restrictions.
Some commenters questioned the need to go so far over a few cases, but others were mostly supportive of China's continued policy of stamping out outbreaks.
While most of the world is open and operating with huge case numbers, including some countries that previously pursued zero-covid strategies, China has stuck with its policy of keeping the virus at bay, putting increasing pressure on local officials as they battle sporadic outbreaks.
Two senior Communist party officials were removed from their posts in the northern city of Xi'an because of their insufficient rigor in preventing and controlling the outbreak. In the public streets, officials paraded rule-breakers with placards around their neck. Dozens of officials were punished for failing to prevent the outbreak in the city.
There are five new Covid-19 cases in ying province and eight new cases in a separate cluster in the eastern city of Ningbo. The officials did not say what variant the outbreak was in.
New coronaviruses have reached a high not seen in the country in over a year, despite the reported cases being low.
Additional reporting by Xiaoqian Zhu.
