What’s new: Xi’an, capital of northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, imposed strict travel controls and locked down communities to contain the latest flare-up of Covid-19.
The city government told its 13 million people to stay put absent pressing travel needs. Public transportation out of the city has been largely halted, with check points on main roads to inspect nonessential travels, city officials said Wednesday.
The city sealed 229 high-risk areas for virus control, affecting 160,000 people. An additional 76 areas and 685,000 residents are under restrictions. As of Wednesday noon, Xi’an tested more than 10 million people in a second round of mass virus screening.
Xi’an imposed travel controls over the past week, slashing the number of flights in and out the city by nearly 90% as of Wednesday.
The context: Chinese authorities are racing to contain growing flare-ups ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the Lunar New Year break that in years before the pandemic set off the world’s largest annual human migration with nearly 3 billion trips in 2019.
In a resurgence since Dec. 9, Xi’an has recorded 143 cases, with flare-ups spreading to at least four provinces as of Tuesday.
The latest flare-up in Xi’an was dominated by the Delta variant, genetic sequencing showed.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com)
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