China lifts one of its longest lockdowns in Xi’an as Beijing’s frenzy grows ahead of the Winter Olympics

With the Winter Olympics set to begin next week, China is trying to eliminate Covid outbreaks.

Beijing:

One of China’s longest coronavirus lockdowns since the start of the pandemic ended on Monday as authorities announced the lifting of most restrictions in the northern megacity of Xi’an.

13 million residents of the historic city have been confined in their homes since December 22 after the discovery of a cluster of Covid-19 that has grown to more than 2,100 cases – China’s largest local outbreak in months.

With the Winter Olympics set to begin next week, Chinese authorities have sought to eradicate outbreaks in several major cities, most recently Beijing, where more than 40 cases have been recorded. since mid-January.

Although China’s coronavirus tracing is worse than the global count, the country’s strict “zero-Covid” strategy means that even the slightest trace of the virus is met with tracing. contact, target locking and prolonged isolation.

Officials began lifting restrictions in Xi’an last week after daily cases slowed to single digits.

The virus control agency said in a statement on Monday, residents of clean health were allowed to leave the city, while public transport and economic activity had fully resumed.

The notice said only one county is currently still under lockdown, with restrictions to be lifted at a later date.

But visitors to Xi’an, home of famous terracotta warriors, still need to provide recent negative test results, while those arriving from virus-affected areas of China are infected. entry ban.

Xi’an authorities have been criticized for their handling of the prolonged lockdown, including food supply problems and the medical tragedy stemming from patients being denied admission to hospitals.

In Beijing, authorities are stepping up already strict virus control measures after a recent spike in cases, coinciding with a traditional nationwide tourist peak ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Residents in the capital who buy over-the-counter fever reducers are now required to be tested for the virus, while all two million residents of a county were tested on Sunday after an outbreak in Delta was linked to the public. Frozen food ingredients are found there.

Local authorities announced on Monday, while customs increased control over frozen imports.

Authorities last week suggested that the Omicron outbreak in Beijing could be traced back to contaminated international mail, although experts say there is little evidence to support the idea.

Leaders, anxious to avoid a complete shutdown of the capital ahead of a determined Olympics, urged residents to stay in during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Thousands of athletes, media staff and foreign dignitaries coming to the Olympics will operate in a “closed-loop” bubble completely cut off from the outside world. On Sunday, it was announced that more than 70 Game participants have tested positive inside the bubble so far.

On Monday, China reported 18 domestic transmissions, six of which were found in Beijing. Other recent virus hotspots including the city of Tianjin and southern Guangdong province have reported single-digit cases.

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)