Author: Mori Jinjian
Beijing (Associated Press)-Residents of Xi’an, China are enduring a strict coronavirus lockdown. Although the authorities have guaranteed that they can provide necessities for local residents, business owners are still facing more bankruptcies, and some people complain that it is difficult to find food. 13 million people are basically confined at home.
Strict measures to contain the outbreak are common in China. After many other countries have chosen to try to coexist with the virus for a long time, China still insists on the policy of eliminating every COVID-19 case. However, the lockdown imposed in Xi’an on December 23 was one of the strictest lockdowns in the country since the closure of Wuhan and surrounding areas in 2020 when the coronavirus was first detected.
On January 4, the authorities announced that after only three asymptomatic cases were found, Yuzhou City in Henan Province was locked down over the weekend.
Throughout the pandemic, the Chinese have largely complied with the strict measures, but despite the risk of retaliation by the Communist authorities, complaints about the strict policies have continued to emerge. However, the blockade of Xi’an occurred during a particularly sensitive period, as China is preparing to host the Beijing Winter Olympics, which will open on February 4, and is therefore under particular pressure to control the epidemic.
“If you can’t leave the building, it’s getting harder and harder to buy groceries online,” said a Xi’an resident who posted on the social media platform Weibo in the name of Mu Qingyuan Nisano. The post is from a verified account, but the person did not respond to a request for further comment.
Zhang Canyou, an expert from the State Council’s Epidemic Prevention and Control Team, said frankly that “the community may have supply pressure.”
But the official Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying: “The government will make every effort to coordinate resources to provide people with daily necessities and medical services.”
The Xi’an blockade initially allowed people to leave their homes every two days to buy basic goods, but it was later tightened, but the rules vary according to the severity of the outbreak in each region. Some people are not allowed to go out at all, and goods must be delivered to the door. People can only leave the city with special permission.
In recent days, people in Xi’an can be seen shopping in the pop-up market, and the staff are wearing white protective clothing from head to toe. Community volunteers also visited people’s homes and asked them what they needed.
However, pressure began to show, and residents increasingly complained on Weibo that they were unable to purchase necessities. In a widely circulated video, guards can be seen assaulting a man trying to deliver steamed buns to his family. According to a statement issued by the Xi’an police on Weibo, the guards later apologized to the man and each was fined 200 yuan (31 U.S. dollars).
In an online diary on the popular WeChat website, a Xi’an writer said that after the first wave of rushing purchases and the closure of the market, residents soon began to look for food online.
“In this age of material surplus, when everyone is trying to lose weight, it is difficult to eat enough.” Jiang Xue wrote. The message sent to the account did not return immediately.
China’s “zero tolerance” strategy of isolating every case, conducting large-scale testing, and trying to prevent new infections from abroad has helped it contain previous outbreaks. But blockades are much stricter than anything seen in the West, and they have caused huge losses to the economy and the lives of millions of people.
As seen in Yuzhou, these measures are usually implemented only after a small number of cases have been detected. Since the regulations were implemented there on January 2, residents have been allowed to return to this city of 1.7 million people, but they must not leave and must be isolated at home. Only emergency vehicles are allowed on city roads. An order from the city government stated that restaurants, sports facilities and various other businesses have been ordered to close, while the market can only provide basic necessities.
At the same time, Xi’an is home to the famous terracotta warriors and major industries. Officials say this is a surge in more than 1,600 cases caused by the delta variant, which is less infectious than China’s new omicron strain. Only a few cases have been reported. Another 95 cases of infection were announced on January 4.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has reported 102,841 cases and 4,636 deaths. Although these numbers are relatively small compared to the United States and other countries, and may be underestimated because of their ubiquity, although China has sometimes taken drastic measures, they do indicate the continued existence of the virus.
According to official media reports, Xi’an has ordered a third round of large-scale testing, which can test 10 million people in just 7 hours and process up to 3 million results in just 12 hours.
Although Wuhan’s healthcare system was overwhelmed after it became popular at the end of 2019, China has not reported a shortage of beds or medical equipment and personnel in Xi’an. According to Xinhua News Agency, two dozen special teams have been set up to deal with COVID-19 cases, and two hospitals have been set aside to provide other types of care.
According to our data world, China has vaccinated nearly 85% of the population. Although China’s vaccines are considered not as effective as vaccines used elsewhere, these vaccines help reduce the severity of the disease.
Officials have been told that if the number of new cases is not reduced, they will lose their jobs, which shows that the authorities are under pressure to contain this outbreak. According to a statement from the Shaanxi Provincial Government of the surrounding province, the two top CCP officials in Yanta District have been fired, and the area has recorded half of the city’s cases.
The person in charge of a travel company contacted by phone said that the supply is basically sufficient, but his business has been affected since July.
“Now the blockade has a very big impact,” said the man, whose surname is very common among Chinese.
Qin Huilin, who works in a traditional mutton soup restaurant, said the blockade brought business to a halt.
“We used to have about a hundred customers every day, but since the lockdown, we have not had a customer for more than ten days,” Qin said by phone. “This has a great impact on our business, but I can go shopping in the supermarket every few days and there is enough supply.”
