China shut down a city of 13 million people on Thursday in a bid to extinguish a tiny COVID-19 outbreak and chase its zero-case goal, as other nations around the globe battled huge infection surges driven by Omicron.
China locked down the northern city of Xi’an – home to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors –- recalling the sequestering of the central city of Wuhan in January 2020 when the virus first emerged.
Omicron has not been reported in Xi’an and only dozens of the less infectious Delta cases have been detected in the city of 13 million people in recent days.
But the Chinese government, scrambling to maintain its zero-COVID strategy ahead of the Winter Olympics, reacted with typical forcefulness and ordered all residents to stay indoors.
Only one person per household can leave home every two days to buy necessities, while non-essential businesses are closed.
“I think it is necessary to have the lockdown,” a Xi’an resident, who wanted to be identified only as Yuan, told AFP.
“It is a countermeasure which we should do as early as possible, it’s really an effective way.”
In China, even a single COVID case can prompt stay-at-home orders and strict travel bans.
Xi’an resident Wei told AFP the lockdown had left her feeling “miserable,” as a series of outbreaks had prevented her from seeing her husband, who lives in Beijing, for months.
“Beijing had an outbreak a while ago, and now Xi’an has an outbreak – it just alternated,” Wei said.
February’s Olympics are set to be the most restrictive mass sporting event since the pandemic began, with international spectators banned and all participants required to stay inside a closed-loop system.
In addition to mandatory vaccinations before landing in China, all athletes and personnel inside the bubble must undergo daily virus testing and health monitoring.
Symptomatic athletes will be sent to designated hospitals, while any who test positive for the virus will not be able to participate in the Games, officials said.
China has recorded fewer than 5,000 Covid deaths throughout the pandemic, compared with more than 800,000 in the United States.