The Chinese city of Xi'an, where 13 million residents are currently confined to their homes, announced tightened restrictions on Sunday as the country recorded its biggest Covid-19 infection numbers in 21 months.

China has stuck to a "zero-Covid" strategy involving tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns.

Authorities have been especially vigilant in recent months to avoid an outbreak before February's Beijing Winter Olympics, but there have been sporadic flare-ups.

But on Sunday the country reported 206 new Covid infections — the highest daily number since March 2020.

"In the coming days, a number of cases are still likely to be detected," Xi'an official He Wenquan warned, calling on the city's population not to panic.

The northern metropolis — about 900 km (560 miles) from the Olympics venues — reported 155 new Covid patients on Sunday, bringing the total to nearly 500 over the past few weeks.

About 29,000 people have been placed in hotel quarantine, He said.

Xi'an residents have already been tested several times, authorities said, and a "total" disinfection was to begin Sunday evening.

Restrictions on movement have also been tightened.

Each household can only send one member out to buy basic necessities once every three days — down from two days under previous rules.

All businesses except supermarkets, convenience stores and medical facilities have been ordered to close.

Since the coronavirus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, China has largely kept the pandemic at bay.

The country has officially recorded only two deaths in over a year.

China punishes dozens of Xi'an officials as city grapples with Covid lockdown
Beijing (AFP) Dec 24, 2021 –

Dozens of officials have been punished over a virus outbreak in the locked-down city of Xi'an, China's disciplinary body said Friday — the latest state reprimands under Beijing's strict zero-Covid approach.

China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in February in the capital Beijing.

The world's most populous nation has reduced cases to a minimum thanks to a zero-Covid strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns.

But cases have been bubbling up in recent weeks — with Xi'an, home to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors, telling all 13 million residents to stay home from Thursday, shuttering businesses and launching several rounds of mass testing.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Friday that 26 Communist Party officials had been punished for "insufficient rigour in preventing and controlling the outbreak".

Xi'an reported another 49 cases on Friday, bringing the total outbreak to more than 250 in recent weeks.

Chinese officials who are deemed to have failed at controlling the virus in their region are regularly sacked or reprimanded.

The statement said inspections had revealed there had been a lax approach to testing and an uncoordinated response that hindered contact tracing in Xi'an.

Authorities would clamp down on "bureaucratic issues in disease control work such as shirking responsibility, not taking action, passing the buck and dealing with things in a negative way", a Party discipline official said.

A party secretary in Inner Mongolia was sacked after his area was hit by a cluster of cases in October, while the head of Zhengzhou city's health commission was sacked in August after cases this summer.

Cases from Xi'an have so far spread to five other cities including Beijing, according to state media — fuelling fears about how quickly the virus can spread geographically across the vast country.

Under lockdown rules, since Thursday all households in Xi'an have only been permitted to send one member outside every two days to purchase necessities.

Residents who want to leave the city must first apply for approval, while major venues including the museum housing the Terracotta Army — the mausoleum of China's first emperor — have been shut until further notice.

China reports highest number of coronavirus cases in four months
Beijing (AFP) Dec 25, 2021 –

China Saturday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in four months as officials rushed to contain outbreaks in several regions, including Xi'an city where millions are still under lockdown.

China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in February in the capital Beijing.

Of the 140 new infections, 87 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, compared to 55 a day earlier.

Most were in Xi'an, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, where 13 million residents have been under lockdown since Thursday.

On Christmas Eve the city reported its highest daily count in a year with 75 domestic cases, according to the local health bureau Saturday.

While China has reduced cases to a minimum — thanks to a zero-Covid strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns — cases have been bubbling up in recent weeks.

Footage from state broadcaster CCTV Saturday showed long queues outside Xi'an testing centres as officials rushed to stamp out the latest flareup.

Under strict lockdown rules, since Thursday all households in Xi'an have only been permitted to send one member outside every two days to purchase necessities. Residents need special permission from their employer or local authorities to leave the city.

Xi'an has recorded 330 locally transmitted symptomatic cases since the first case was reported on December 9 2021, few compared to outbreaks elsewhere in the world.

But some 26 Xi'an government officials have been punished for lapses in virus prevention, China's disciplinary body said Friday.

Local authorities who are deemed to have failed at controlling the virus in their region are regularly sacked or reprimanded under Beijing's strict zero-Covid approach.

Cases from Xi'an have so far spread to five other cities including Beijing, according to state media, fuelling fears about how quickly the virus can spread geographically across the vast country.

China has reported 100,871 symptomatic cases and fewer than 5,000 deaths since the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.