China : 13 million people on lockdown to contain Covid19 spread in Xi’an
China ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighbourhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi’an following a spike in coronavirus cases, setting off panic buying just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympic Games.
Though no cases of the Omicron variant has been reported in Xian, the authorities in the city have made it difficult for its 13 million residents to leave their homes as well as the city
From midnight on Thursday, all households may only “send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities,” with all others ordered to remain indoors except for emergencies, the city government said in a statement on its official Weibo social media account.
Reports claimed at least 70,000 people were put under isolation as thousands faced restrictions in Zhejiang. Similar measures were also undertaken by authorities in the port city of Ningbo and Shaoxing as business operations were suspended.
