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Going through the largest outbreak of COVID-19 instances in weeks, China’s authorities on Wednesday issued a lockdown order for the 13 million residents of Xian, the provincial capital of northwestern Shaanxi.
Officers stated town had reported greater than 140 instances within the final 10 days, that are excessive numbers for China’s “zero COVID” technique that requires lockdowns and mass testing to make sure instances stay zero.
Persisting challenges
The most recent outbreak underlines the difficulties in persevering with that technique with extra transmissible variants, coming weeks after an outbreak that unfold to greater than a dozen provinces introduced focused lockdowns in November.
The most recent cluster in Xian was reported to be instances of Delta variant, and as but there haven’t been native instances of the Omicron variant reported in China.
Epidemiological investigations advised the Xian outbreak was linked to a flight from Pakistan and an an infection being transmitted to a employee at a lodge the place passengers had been quarantining, media stories in China stated, including that investigations had been ongoing.
Authorities in Xian stated town’s 13 million residents ought to keep house and requested them to not journey outdoors town.
China’s authorities is especially involved forward of the February Winter Olympic Video games in Beijing, which additionally coincide with the Lunar New Yr vacation that normally sees thousands and thousands of individuals journey house.
Whereas there isn’t a full journey ban in Xian, these leaving require COVID-19 assessments and clearance from their employers, Reuters quoted authorities as saying, including that beginning December 23, just one individual in every house will probably be allowed to exit to purchase necessities as soon as each two days.
Sweeping measures
Equally sweeping measures had been put in place in a number of cities in November, with lockdowns of neighbourhoods, mass testing, and tens of 1000’s of individuals moved to central quarantine services after a wave of instances in 16 provinces throughout China.
The persevering with “Zero COVID” strategy has broadly been profitable in permitting China, the place the COVID-19 pandemic first started, to keep away from a significant second wave. The measures additionally embrace persevering with restrictions on worldwide journey, leaving China’s mainland and Hong Kong among the many few locations but to open to the remainder of the world two years into the pandemic.
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