DRASTIC MEASURES

China Puts 13 Million Residents in Lockdown Over COVID Outbreak

The city government told residents that each household would be allowed to “send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities.”

Chinese authorities have ordered all 13 million residents of Xi’an into isolation after 52 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the city. In total, the city has recorded 143 new infections since Dec. 9. The city government announced the strict new lockdown policy on Wednesday, warning residents that each household would be allowed to “send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities,” according to Channel News Asia. The harsh measures come as Chinese authorities seek to stop any spread of coronavirus ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, a task that is expected to be much harder in light of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. In Dongxing, a city in Guangxi province, authorities ordered 200,000 people into isolation this week after one of their neighbors tested positive for COVID-19.