Covid19 : China begins mass disinfection
The western Chinese city of Xi’an has begun widespread disinfection measures since late Sunday to counter a jump in Covid infections that forced the lockdown of 13 million residents.
Authorities reported 162 new community infections on Monday, up from 158 on Sunday. All but 10 of Monday’s new cases were reported in Shaanxi province, where 13 million residents of the capital Xi’an have been locked down for five days.
The city’s 13 million residents were given just a few hours’ notice on Sunday afternoon that a “full-scale” deep cleaning would start at 6pm to “further improve the prevention and control of the epidemic, and effectively protect the health and life safety of the people”.
Residents criticized the disinfection measures online as the program added to already increasing restrictions in the city. Citizens accused the local government of mishandling and oversimplifying its response to the outbreak.
