China is Using its Zero-Covid Policy Ahead of Olympics

The people’s Republic of China is famous for its zero-Covid policy. The world’s second-largest economy adopted strict pandemic control measures. It adopted strict measures as part of its policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero, leading to frequent lockdowns, universal masking as well as mass testing. Its policy has not been entirely successful. However, China credits it with largely containing the spread of the virus. The world’s most populous country reported 4,636 deaths among a total of 100,644 cases of COVID-19.

Authorities ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in Xi’an. The country is not willing to tolerate even a single case of Covid-19. Officials ordered all people to stay home unless they had a pressing reason to leave their houses. They also suspended all transport to and from the city apart from special cases. Only one person from each household will be able to buy household necessities every two days.

China and Covid-19

There was no word on whether the virus was the omicron variant or the far more common delta. As of December 22, China recorded just seven omicron cases. Authorities identified four cases in the southern manufacturing center of Guangzhou. They also located two cases in the southern city of Changsha and one in the northern port of Tianjin.

On Thursday, the city reported another 63 locally transmitted cases over the previous 24 hours. It is the capital city of Shaanxi province, famed for its imperial relics, and a major center of industry.

The restrictions imposed by authorities in Xi’an are some of the harshest since China in 2020 imposed a strict lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around the central city of Wuhan.

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