An outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the Chinese city of Xian, whose 13 million inhabitants have been under strict confinement Since Thursday, the daily increase in cases in China has skyrocketed to its highest in the last 21 months despite the country’s tough prevention measures.
The city of Xian, capital of Shaanxi province (northwest) and famous for hosting the famous Terracotta Army, accumulates 485 positives since last November 9, all by local transmission, according to the latest figures released this Sunday by the authorities.
Of the 158 indigenous cases reported this Sunday by the National Health Commission of China, 155 were located in Xian. The previous day the local positives were 87, most of them (75) also in that city.
This wave of infections, attributed to the delta variant and in which none have been reported produced by the new omicron, It occurs with just over a month to go before the celebration of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, an event that the Chinese government is determined to protect at all costs.
This wave of infections is attributed to the delta variant and in which none have been reported produced by the new omicron. Reuters photo
Beijing is shielded
Faced with the situation in Xian, the capital announced on Friday a reinforcement of preventive measures, asking its inhabitants not to leave the city if not necessary – not even during Chinese New Year celebrations – and limiting the number of people allowed in private gatherings to ten, among other restrictions.
The outbreak has also triggered the statistics in a country of 1,411 million inhabitants whose policy of “zero tolerance” Against the virus and strict health protocols have kept the pandemic at bay in the last year – at least according to official figures – in contrast to the high rates of contagion in the rest of the world.
The Xian authorities have already carried out three rounds of mass testing They are on the lookout for new cases and do not rule out that a high number of positives will be confirmed in the coming days, He Wenquan, a senior municipal government official quoted by the official Xinhua agency, said at a press conference today.
More than 31,000 people work collecting samples at 4,400 PCR testing facilities, according to information released by the municipality.
Penalties for negligence
On Friday, official media reported that 26 people and four committees of the Communist Party of China (CCP) they were sanctioned for his alleged responsibility in the regrowth.
In Xian, more than 31,000 people work collecting samples at 4,400 PCR testing facilities. Reuters photo
A municipal disciplinary inspection determined that these people they did not fulfill their duty by disregarding the protocols security and fail in the “rigorous implementation” of containment measures.
State media did not detail what type of punishment or sanction those allegedly responsible for the outbreak, which keeps an entire city confined, will receive.
Since last Thursday the residential complexes have been in a “closed circuit” and schools have been closed and canceled all kinds of events, in addition to reigning telework except in the case of health personnel.
At the moment, only one person per family is allowed go out every other day to buy food and other commodities.
The inhabitants are also required to don’t leave xian If it is not strictly necessary, and those who want to leave the city must first obtain certificates approved by the local authorities, in addition to presenting a negative nucleic acid test.
Xianyang International Airport has canceled all domestic operations and rail connections have also been suspended.
Hemorrhagic fever
Xian is the third Chinese city of more than 10 million inhabitants under strict confinement since the pandemic began in early 2020, when Wuhan – considered “zero point” of the pandemic – was confined.
Xian is the third Chinese city of more than ten million inhabitants under strict confinement. Reuters photo
This measure was also imposed this year in Shijiazhuang (North Hebei Province).
The city also notified in recent days various cases of hemorrhagic fever, an infectious disease that can be fatal and whose initial symptoms, such as fever and cough, are similar to those of COVID-19.
China has so far not confirmed any contagion from local transmission of the omicron variant, but it has reported “imported” cases of travelers arrived from abroad while they were quarantining.
To date, the Asian country has developed a zero tolerance strategy against the coronavirus, which involves strict entry controls in the country with quarantines of up to three weeks and numerous tests of various types, in addition to mass test campaigns and selective confinement in places where a regrowth is detected.
According to the report issued today by the Chinese health authorities, there are currently 2,011 active cases throughout the country, nine of them serious.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, official figures indicate that in China 100,894 people have been infected and 4,636 died.
EFE Agency
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