It has been a week since the 13 million inhabitants of the city of Xi’an, in northern China, have undergone lockdown in an attempt to stem the resumption of the Covid-19 pandemic. They only have the right to go out to refuel once every three days. But in addition to this strict diet, they are put on a dry diet. In recent days, some have warned of the lack of food in the city.
The central government brushes aside these claims. “Overall, the supply of basic necessities in Xi’an is sufficient,” retorted this Thursday the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, Gao Feng. He said his ministry would take additional measures if necessary to ensure supplies to Xi’an. National television is showing images of employees in full suits sorting eggs, vegetables and meat before going door to door to deliver them to residents.
However, the local authorities did admit the day before that the restrictions weighed on the delivery of essential goods. This is also evidenced by the calls for help from the residents of Xi’an, which have multiplied on social networks since Tuesday. In lack of food and other essentials, some even said that their housing complex would not let them go out.
“How do we live? What do we eat? writes a user on the Weibo microblogging platform. A few days ago, we could go out once to buy groceries, but that was canceled… All online grocery apps are either sold out or out of delivery. ” Another resident indicates that she was finally able to get supplies after negotiating with her residence to go out for thirty minutes. According to her, her supermarket had few stocks and the vegetables were not fresh.
More than a thousand cases in the metropolis
Some residents nevertheless claim to have received supplies, while others relate information gleaned here and there. “I heard that friends in other districts received their food, but not here in Weiyang district”, thus testifies a certain Ms. Wang to AFP.
This Thursday, China reports 207 new patients with Covid-19, including 155 in Xi’an. High figures for the country, which observes a “zero Covid” policy accompanied by radical measures. On Friday, the Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission announced that it had sanctioned 26 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials for “Lack of rigor in the prevention and control of the epidemic” in Xi’an. Authorities also arrested at least seven people in the city for trying to bypass quarantine, disrupting order and spreading rumors, local media said.
More than a thousand cases have so far been identified in the metropolis since the discovery of an epidemic focus on December 9. This resurgence is the most serious reported in China since March 2020.