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Residents of Xi'an have been restricted from leaving their homes, even to buy groceries, as the Chinese city attempts to squash a COVID-19 outbreak. The lockdown in Xi'an, the capital of the Shaanxi Province with a population of 13 million people, is the strictest lockdown of a major Chinese city since the one imposed in Wuhan at the onset of the pandemic.
Before, residents of Xi'an were permitted to leave their homes to buy food once every two days. But city authorities toughened the lockdown restrictions this week to bar civilians from even making infrequent grocery trips.
Instead, officials have organized mass grocery deliveries to Xi'an residents.
The city has also been sealed off so that residents are not able to leave without receiving special authorization. People are allowed to leave their homes to receive COVID-19 tests or carry out other essential activities with the approval of authorities, Reuters reported.
"Xi'an has reached a live-or-die stage in its fight against the virus," Zhang Fenghu, a city government official, said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Xi'an's latest outbreak has racked up a total of roughly 1,000 cases, with 155 new locally transmitted cases reported on Wednesday, according to official data. A police official said during a news briefing Thursday that Xi'an officers were sent to residential compounds to ensure that the lockdown rules were being implemented and followed.
China's Commerce Ministry has contacted nearby provinces to help ensure adequate supplies of everyday necessities, a ministry spokesperson said Thursday.
State broadcaster CCTV aired a story Thursday showing building staff assembling free grocery deliveries for the residents of an apartment complex in Xi'an.
The deliveries included a box of 15 eggs, a 2.5-kilogram (5.5-pound) bag of rice and some green vegetables. Residents could also expect either some chicken or pork, it said.
Still, some people complained in comments below the segment shared on Weibo, a social media platform, that they have not received the same deliveries in their communities. Many worried if they will be able to obtain fresh vegetables and meat.
Xi'an's case numbers pale in comparison to outbreaks elsewhere in the world but are significant for China, which continues to follow a policy of trying to eradicate the coronavirus. That has resulted in widespread lockdowns to cut the virus's spread.
China has reported a total of 101,890 cases and 4,636 deaths since the pandemic began.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more