China is one of the last countries still implementing the “zero Covid” strategy to deal with the pandemic.
Restaurants, bars, cultural venues and even karaoke rooms to close for one week in major Chinese city Sianafter detecting approx 20 cases of Covid-19the authorities announced today.
The historic and touristic city of 13 million inhabitants, a former imperial capital, is known worldwide for the famous “Clay Army” of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang.
China is one of the last countries still implementing the “zero Covid” strategy to deal with the pandemic.
This strategy consists of mass testing, mandatory quarantine in case of positive cases and targeted lockdowns. The government considers that this strategy is necessary to preserve medical and pharmaceutical resources, which in some areas are limited, but also to protect the elderly, whose vaccination rate remains relatively low.
Since Saturday, Xi’an has recorded 18 positive cases of the Omicron variant, according to local authorities.
“We are racing against time” to “avoid the spread and escalation of cases,” a municipal official, Zhang Sundong, told reporters.
According to the municipality, the entertainment venues will close from midnight on Wednesday for one week. Restaurants will not accept customers but can continue with home deliveries. Primary schools and kindergartens will still remain closed.
Xi’an was recently placed under a one-month lockdown (December 2021-January 2022) due to the outbreak. Authorities were criticized at the time for their handling of the crisis, with food supply problems and some patients denied access to hospitals.
“That’s it, we’re starting again,” one user commented on Weibo today after the new measures were announced.
The Ministry of Health announced today 335 new cases nationally. The worst-hit area is Anhui province, where 1.7 million residents in two rural districts have been quarantined.
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