Xi’an outbreak triggers biggest daily increase in cases in China in 21 months

A regrowth of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the city china of Xian, whose 13 million people have been under strict confinement since Thursday, has triggered the daily increase of cases in China to its maximum in the last 21 months despite the harsh prevention measures applied by the country.

The city of Xian, capital of the Shaanxi province (northwest) and famous for hosting the famous Terracotta Army, has accumulated 485 positives since 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, occurs just over a month before the celebration of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, an event that the Chinese government is determined to protect at all costs.

Beijing is shielded

Given 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 the Chinese New Year celebrations – and limiting the number of people to ten allowed in private meetings, among other restrictions.

The outbreak has also triggered statistics in a country of 1,411 million inhabitants whose “zero tolerance” policy 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 massive tests to hunt 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, told a press conference today. quoted by the official Xinhua agency.

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) were sanctioned for their alleged responsibility in the outbreak.

A municipal disciplinary inspection determined that these people did not fulfill their duty by disregarding security protocols and failing 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 all kinds of events have been canceled, in addition to reigning teleworking except in the case of health personnel.

At the moment, only one person per family is allowed to go out every two days to buy food and other basic products.

Residents are also required not to leave Xian if not strictly necessary, and those who want to leave the city must first obtain certificates approved by local authorities, as well as submit a negative nucleic acid test.

Xianyang International Airport has canceled all domestic operations and rail connections have also been suspended.

COVID … and 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.

This measure was also imposed this year in Shijiazhuang (North Hebei Province).

The city also reported in recent days several 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 not confirmed so far any contagion by local transmission of the omicron variant, but it has reported “imported” cases of travelers arriving 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 into the country with quarantines of up to three weeks and numerous analytics of various types, as well as mass testing and confinement campaigns. selective in the 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 100,894 people have been infected in China and 4,636 died.