Chinese city of Xi'an lifts some restrictions after three-week lockdown: State media

Beijing: State media are reporting the Chinese city of Xi’an has gradually begun lifting restrictions after over three weeks of lockdown as authorities sought to stamp out a local outbreak. State-owned broadcaster CCTV reported Sunday that certain counties and development zones in Xi’an had begun restoring production, citing a news conference by Xi’an officials. They also said that lockdown measures had been either partially or completely lifted in some communities that have been designated as lower risk, allowing people to leave their homes for a limited time to purchase daily necessities. The partial lifting of measures comes after the city went into strict lockdown on 22 December, following a local coronavirus outbreak that officials attributed to the Delta variant. The city has reported over 2,000 infections since December last year. China is seeking to stamp out local transmission of the Omicron and Delta variants with its “zero COVID” policy. Several municipalities and cities in the southern province of Guangdong as well as Beijing have in recent days reported local cases of the more contagious Omicron variant. Beijing Daily reported Sunday that the capital will require travellers to take nucleic acid tests within 72 hours of entry into the city from 22 January, days after it reported its first omicron case on Saturday with just three weeks before it hosts the Winter Olympic Games