Covid-19: In biggest curbs since Wuhan, China locks down 13 mn people

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: To stamp out a fresh outbreak of the Covid-19, China locked down the western city of Xi’an on Thursday in its biggest such move since the pandemic started in Wuhan in November 2019, showing Beijing’s failure to contain the scourge despite its zero-tolerance approach.

Residents of Xi’an were ordered to remain locked in their homes and let only one designated person go out to buy essential commodities. It panicked the people and sparked fights over access to food. Non-essential travel out of the city was also banned, the media reported,

The authorities took the extreme step after the second round of mass testing detected 127 fresh infections across 14 districts, making containment of the virus “grave and complicated,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Most of these infections came from the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The soaring number of cases underscored the challenge China faces at a time of increasing holiday travel as the country prepares for the Winter Olympic Games, due in February 2022, when it expects an influx of sportspersons and their entourages. Officials directed Chinese sports persons to get booster shots.

Now, China is bracing for the more infectious Omicron variant, which is evading immunity from vaccination or previous infection.

Reports quoting Chinese Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan said he urged “swift” measures to curb the fresh spread of infections. She also emphasized tightening restrictions on people’s movement to prevent large gatherings in key areas, Xinhua said.

Xi’an’s lockdown proved the latest escalation in Beijing’s efforts to stop local transmission of the Delta variant. China is the only country trying to eliminate the coronavirus and bring the number of cases to zero. Xi’an has also canceled all domestic flights on Thursday. The country reported no new local cases for over two months until now.

The latest breakout in Xi’an was traced to a flight from Pakistan. Two weeks ago, a hotel staff tested positive. So far, China has reported four omicron infections from people returning from overseas.

Some Chinese social media users said the fresh outbreak is the worst Xi’an has encountered. They also posted videos online showing people fighting over food and other essential goods in supermarkets as they stock up for the lockdown.