A cluster of covid-19 cases in China prompts a citywide lockdown
Measures in Xi’an are China’s toughest on such a scale since early in the pandemic
FOR MUCH of the pandemic, the lives of most people in China have remained relatively normal except for hassles caused by tough border controls. For the 13m residents of the western city of Xi’an, that changed on December 23rd 2021 when officials imposed one of the biggest lockdowns anywhere in the country since SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late in 2019. Four days later inhabitants were told to stay at home, and go out only to be tested for covid-19. No one may leave or enter Xi’an without approval.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “The price of zero”
From the January 1st 2022 edition
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