CHINA reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in four months today, as officials rush to contain outbreaks in several regions, including Xi’an, where millions are still under lockdown.

China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in the capital Beijing in February.

Of the 140 new cases, 87 are locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.

Most are in Xi’an, located in the north-western province of Shaanxi, where 13 million residents have been under lockdown since Thursday.

Xi’an reported its highest daily count in a year with 75 domestic cases yesterday, according to the local health bureau today.

While China has reduced cases to a minimum – thanks to a zero-Covid strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns – cases have been bubbling up in recent weeks.

State broadcaster CCTV footage shows long lines of people outside testing centres in the city, as officials rushed to stamp out the latest flare-up.

All Xi’an households have been permitted to send only one member outside every two days to purchase necessities since Thursday. Residents need special permission from their employer or local authorities to leave the city.

Xi’an has recorded 330 locally transmitted symptomatic cases since the first case was reported on December 9, not much compared with outbreaks elsewhere in the world.

But 26 government officials have been punished for lapses in virus prevention, said China’s disciplinary body yesterday.

Local authorities deemed to have failed at controlling the virus in their region are regularly sacked or reprimanded under the strict zero-Covid approach.

Xi’an’s cases have spread to five other cities, including Beijing, according to state media, fuelling fears about how quickly the virus can spread across the vast country.

China has reported 100,871 symptomatic cases and fewer than 5,000 deaths since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019. – AFP, December 25, 2021.