China Adopts 'Zero COVID' Strategy, Many in Lockdown Amid Outbreak Fears: Report

"There's no food, my housing compound won't let me out..." a Xi’an resident wrote on Weibo.

The recent lockdowns are the most sweeping in China since the first lockdown placed in the city of Wuhan in 2019

(Photo: AP)

China on Tuesday, 28 December, imposed a total lockdown on "hundreds of thousands of citizens", according to an AFP report. This comes less than a week after the authorities ordered restrictions on movement and home confinement over the city of Xi'an.

The order on Tuesday follows the restrictions placed last week on the city of Xi'an – home to 13 million people – which has now entered its sixth day of home quarantine.

In a bid to control another outbreak of the coronavirus, China is rigidly abiding with its ‘zero COVID’ strategy. This reportedly includes:

• A ban of driving and imposing stay-at-home orders

• Any resident breaking the rules could face detention for up to 10 days and a fine

The affected residents of Xi’an have complained about the restrictions on China’s social media platform Weibo, saying that only one member of a household is permitted to go outside for groceries every three days.

According to news agency AFP, a Xi’an resident wrote on Weibo:

"I'm about to be starved to death...There's no food, my housing compound won't let me out, and I'm about to run out of instant noodles... please help!"

The recent lockdowns are being reported as the most sweeping in China since the first lockdown placed in the city of Wuhan, where the first case of coronavirus emerged in 2019.

(With inputs from AFP)