|
 Xian reported 155 new local cases for Dec. 29, official data showed.
That takes its number of local infections to more than 1,100 since
the flare-up began on Dec. 9 and compelled authorities to put the
city of 13 million under lockdown.
Despite the low case count compared with clusters in many cities
around the world, Xian officials have imposed tough curbs on travel
within and out of the city since Dec. 23, as Beijing demands each
outbreak be contained quickly.
"Xian has reached a live-or-die stage in its fight against the
virus," Zhang Fenghu, a city government official, told a news
conference on Wednesday.
Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, two of the world's
largest memory-chip makers, have warned that the lockdown could
affect their chip manufacturing bases in the area.
Xian is also a major tourism destination, drawing visitors to its
collection of terracotta warriors buried with China's first emperor
more than 2,000 years ago.
Authorities have embarked on multiple rounds of citywide testing to
trace transmissions. A sixth round began on Thursday, a day after a
fifth round.
Many residents have been barred from leaving their housing compounds
unless going out to take COVID-19 tests or attend to essential
matters approved by authorities.
The Xian police have dispatched personnel to each residential
compound to make sure COVID curbs are properly implemented, a police
official told a news briefing on Thursday.
The restrictions have curtailed access to daily necessities, with
many people unable to go out to shop, leaving them dependent on
deliveries.
But the curbs have caused a staffing crunch at companies involved in
ensuring the delivery of supplies and the government was working on
resolving the issue, a Xian government official said on Wednesday.
[to top of second column] |
 WUHAN ANNIVERSARY
A Xian resident surnamed He told Reuters she
tried to order groceries on the online app of
Alibaba-backed supermarket chain Freshippo but
could not secure many items including potatoes
and cucumber.
The app posted a message under many items
saying: "Delivery staffers are not available",
according to a screenshot He provided.
Several city districts have arranged for the delivery of free
groceries to some residential compounds, state media said.
The total supply of necessities in Xian was sufficient, a
spokesperson at the commerce ministry told reporters.
The Xian lockdown, now in its eighth day, coincides with the second
anniversary of early signs of the coronavirus outbreak in the
central city of Wuhan.
Wuhan health authorities said in a notice issued on Dec. 30, 2019,
that some pneumonia patients were stricken by an illness of an "an
unknown cause," according to state media.
Also on Thursday, thousands of people left messages on the social
media account of the late COVID-19 whistleblower Li Wenliang on the
anniversary of the day - also Dec. 30, 2019 - that he learned of the
possibility of a pneumonia-causing virus in Wuhan.
As of Wednesday, mainland China had reported 101,890 confirmed
coronavirus cases, including both local and imported ones, with a
death toll of 4,636.
(Reporting by Ryann Woo, Roxanne Liu, Beijing Newsroom, Gabriel
Crossley and Albee Zhang; editing by Karishma Singh)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
