ONE of China’s longest Covid-19 lockdowns since the start of the pandemic has ended today, after authorities announced the lifting of most restrictions in Xi’an.

The historic city’s 13 million residents had been confined to their houses since December 22, after the discovery of a coronavirus cluster that grew to more than 2,100 cases – China’s largest local outbreak in months.

With the Winter Olympics set to start next week, authorities have been scrambling to eradicate flare-ups in several major cities, most recently Beijing, where more than 40 cases have been recorded since the middle of this month.

While China’s caseload pales in comparison to global numbers, its strict “zero-Covid” strategy means even the slightest hint of the virus is met with contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and lengthy quarantines.

Officials began removing restrictions in Xi’an last week, following a fall in daily cases to single digits.

Residents with a clean bill of health are permitted to leave the city, while public transport and economic activity have fully resumed now that the city has been deemed a “low-risk” area, said virus control authorities in a statement today.

Only one district now remains under lockdown, it added, with restrictions to be lifted at a later date.

But travellers to Xi’an, home of the famed terracotta warriors, still need to provide a recent negative test result, while those from virus-affected areas are barred entry.

Xi’an authorities came under fire for their handling of the prolonged lockdown, including food supply issues and medical tragedies stemming from patients being denied hospital access.

In Beijing, authorities are ramping already-strict virus control measures after the recent surge in cases, which coincides with the traditional nationwide travel rush before the Lunar New Year.

Residents in the capital who buy over-the-counter fever medicine are required to undergo virus testing, while all two million residents of one district were screened yesterday following a local Delta outbreak involving frozen food staff.

That outbreak has spread to neighbouring Shandong province, local authorities announced today, while customs has stepped up controls on frozen imported goods.

Authorities last week suggested Beijing’s Omicron outbreak may have originated from contaminated international mail, but experts said there is little evidence to support the idea.

Leaders are anxious to avoid a full-scale lockdown of the capital ahead of a Games it is determined to pull off smoothly, urging residents to stay put during the Lunar New Year public holiday.

Thousands of athletes, media workers and foreign dignitaries arriving for the Olympics will operate in a “closed-loop” bubble strictly cut off from the outside world. It was announced that more than 70 Games participants tested positive inside the bubble so far.

China reported 18 domestic transmissions, six of which were found in Beijing, today. Other recent virus hotspots, including Tianjin and Guangdong, reported single-digit cases. – AFP, January 24, 2022.