Ahead of Winter Olympics, China rattled by Omicron scare; Xi'an under lockdown

As the world continues to witness a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the lately discovered Omicron variant, ahead of the Winter Olympics, Chinese authorities have been implementing a zero-COVID strategy to contain the spread of the virus. Ever since the cases of COVID-19 have been reported in China, the authorities have been imposing a lockdown and using surveillance to control the spread of the virus. Chinese authorities have been trying this approach in Xi'an to eliminate the COVID-19 outbreak ahead of the Winter Olympics.

So far, China has reported only a few Omicron cases, however, the zero-COVID-19 approach of the Chinese authorities might face challenges if the highly transmissible variant spreads more rapidly, ANI cited CNN report. Furthermore, the CNN report claimed that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is showing resistance even to the booster dose of China's Sinovac vaccine. Even though China has been using the lockdown approach to control the spread of COVID-19 infection, however, their strategy might result in dwindling economic growth. Last week, the World Bank reduced growth forecasts for China due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and its performance in the property sector, as per the news report. 

13 million people under lockdown in Xi'an

Currently, China is witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases in Xi’an where the authorities have put 13 million people in lockdown. The authorities in Xi'an have been making efforts to ensure that the people receive daily necessities as residents continue to be in lockdown for the tenth consecutive day. Since December 31, the authorities have launched five rounds of citywide nucleic acid testing. From December 23, local officials have tightened travel restrictions for those who are travelling within or leaving the city. 

COVID-19 situation in China

According to China's National Health Commission, as of 2 January, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland had reported 11,259 cases of imported COVID-19 infections, taking the overall tally to 102,666 confirmed cases. Of them, 94,903 patients have been cured and discharged from the hospital. The total number of deaths reported due to COVID-19 in China is 4,636. Furthermore, 29,813 cases have been reported in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province. 

Inputs from ANI

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