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As Olympics near, China lifts COVID lockdown in Xian and tests 2 million in Beijing
2022-01-24 00:00:00.0     洛杉矶时报-世界与民族     原网页

       BEIJING —

       A fresh coronavirus outbreak in Beijing has prompted authorities to test millions of residents and impose new measures two weeks ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics. Elsewhere in China, officials in Xian lifted a monthlong lockdown Monday on the northern city’s 13 million residents.

       Despite falling case numbers, pandemic controls have been stepped up in China ahead of the Olympics, where all participants must be tested before and after their arrival in Beijing.

       The 2 million residents of Beijing’s Fengtai district underwent testing following the discovery of 25 coronavirus cases there and 14 cases in other parts of the Chinese capital. Targeted testing was being conducted at residential communities in six other districts. Residents lined up Sunday on snow-covered sidewalks in freezing weather.

       The government told people in areas of Beijing deemed at high risk for infection not to leave the city.

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       The Beijing Municipal Health Commission also said Sunday that anyone who had purchased medicine for fever, cough and other infections within the past two weeks would be required to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours, the state-owned Global Times newspaper reported.

       The Olympics are being held under tight controls that are meant to isolate athletes, staff, reporters and officials from residents. Athletes are required to be vaccinated or undergo a quarantine after arriving in China.

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       The Olympic flame will be displayed only in enclosed venues deemed ‘safe and controllable’ ahead of the opening of the Beijing Winter Games.

       The announcement Monday of the end of lockdown in Xian followed the resumption of commercial flights from the city over the weekend. Xian, a major tourism center and former imperial capital famed as the home of the terra cotta warriors, struggled to get food to some residents in the early days of the lockdown, after people were confined to their homes.

       Xian has been a cornerstone of the ruling Communist Party’s “zero tolerance” coronavirus strategy that mandates lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing whenever a case is discovered.

       Xian is about 600 miles southwest of Beijing, where the Olympics open Feb. 4.

       Access to Xian was suspended Dec. 22 following an outbreak attributed to the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

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       Other outbreaks prompted the government to impose travel bans on a number of cities, including the port of Tianjin, about an hour from Beijing. The stiff regulations are credited with preventing major nationwide outbreaks, and China has reported relatively few cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

       The country Monday reported just 18 new cases of local infection, including six in Beijing. China has 2,754 current cases of infection and has reported a total of 105,660 cases of COVID-19 with 4,636 deaths.

       A number of nearby provinces reported cases linked to the outbreaks in the capital, including Shandong and Hebei provinces. The industrial city of Shenyang, in Liaoning province, reported a positive test result in a person with no symptoms, a case that was also related to the Beijing clusters.

       Olympics organizers Monday said 39 people among the 2,586 athletes, team officials and others who arrived after Jan. 4 had tested positive for the coronavirus upon landing at Beijing airport. Another 33 people who had already entered the bubble isolating participants from the general public later tested positive, the organizing committee said on its website.

       The statement did not identify those who tested positive other than to say they were “outside stakeholders,” a term that excludes athletes and coaches. China normally mandates 21 days of quarantine for people arriving from abroad, but had waived that requirement for those coming for the Olympics on condition they test negative for the coronavirus.

       


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关键词: COVID     Beijing     lockdown Monday     China     Olympics     reported     coronavirus     residents     outbreaks    
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