Another lockdown? Chinese city of Xi'an gets under fire for plan to battle flu outbreak

The aggressiveness with which China handled the COVID-19 outbreak appears to have carried over into this year as well. Social media exposed the harsh zero-Covid policy of Beijing in all its hideous glory last year.

Although the number of Covid cases in China is declining, the number of flu cases has increased nationwide. Some pharmacies are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for flu medications.

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Amid all this, officials from the Chinese city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province said that as part of an emergency action plan to battle the flu outbreak, lockdown can be employed in certain cases.

The plan which was published on Wednesday stated that the city of Xi'an may impose lockdowns in order to fight against future flu outbreaks. However, it describes four levels of severity for future outbreaks and how the metropolis of over 13 million people will respond to each.

At the highest level, the plan suggests, “The city can lock down infected areas, carry out traffic quarantines and suspend production and business activities. Shopping malls, theatres, libraries, museums, tourist attractions and other crowded places will also be closed.”

“At this emergency level, schools and nurseries at all levels would be shut down and be made responsible for tracking students’ and infants’ health conditions.”

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Yet given China's history of responding to crises, many people are not taking the plan that calls for a lockdown kindly. They are terming the plan as "excessive."

Xi'an has already suffered a blow last year at the hand of Chinese authorities imposing harsh lockdown in the city to battle against Covid.

Although a lockdown in Xi'an is not imminent, some locals worry that the city's plans of it may cause them trouble again. China abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy in December, however, now residents are nonetheless concerned.

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Xi'an now counts among the several Chinese cities that had one of the worst lockdowns in the nation last year. The city is famous for its terracotta army. Residents were not allowed to leave their homes for a month in December 2021, not even to buy food and other needs.

(With inputs from agencies)

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