The city, famous for its Terracotta Army, has become the epicenter of the latest wave of Covid-19 in China. The two officials were sacked on Sunday in order to “strengthen the work of prevention and control of the epidemic”.
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The sanction did not take long. Two officials were sacked on Sunday, January 2, by authorities in the Chinese city of Xi’an, in order, according to local official media, to “strengthen the work of prevention and control of the epidemic” In the region. Last month, several dozen officials had already been sanctioned for “insufficient rigor in the prevention and control of the epidemic“.
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Xi’an announced 90 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, up from 122 the day before, bringing the number of infections in the city to more than 1,600 since December 9. “We launched a general attack”, said provincial official Liu Guozhong according to an official note, adding that it was necessary to rid society of the Covid-19 as quickly as possible.
Xi’an, famous for its underground terracotta army, is the new epicenter of the pandemic in the country, which has led authorities to impose containment of the 13 million inhabitants and carry out extensive tracing operations. China follows a “zero Covid” strategy with very severe border restrictions and targeted lockdowns as soon as cases arise, but this approach has not prevented local outbreaks.
Residents of Xi’an have said in recent days that they are struggling to find enough food, even though Chinese authorities insist they are working to secure supplies. One month before the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has recorded in recent days infection figures never seen since March 2020, even if the number of cases remains low compared to other countries in the world.