The Chinese city of Xi'an, where 13 million inhabitants are confined, announced this Sunday a “total” disinfection and tightened the restrictions.
This decision comes at a time when China has recorded a record number of Covid-19 contaminations for 21 months.
The Asian country has been applying a “zero Covid” strategy since last year, which consists of doing everything to limit the occurrence of new cases as much as possible.
The authorities are redoubling their vigilance to avoid any major outbreak before the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4-20).
Read alsoCovid-19: follow the events of the day live
But sporadic outbreaks occur regularly in recent months.
As for example in Xi'an (north of the country), known worldwide for its army buried in terracotta and confined since Thursday.
The metropolis reported 155 new Covid-19 patients on Sunday, bringing the total to nearly 500 in recent weeks.
Groceries once every three days for a single person from the same household
"In the coming days, a number of cases are still likely to be detected," Xi'an official He Wenquan warned before the press, calling on the population not to "panic".
29,000 people have been placed in solitary confinement in specific hotels, the official said.
The city of Xi'an is located about 900 km from the Olympic venues.
To prevent any spread, residents have already been tested several times, authorities said.
And a “total” disinfection begins this Sunday at the end of the day, without specifying what exactly this disinfection consists of.
Restrictions have also been tightened for residents.
Now, each household in Xi'an can only send one of its members once every three days to buy basic necessities.
The previous authorization was for two days.
All "non-essential" businesses except supermarkets, convenience stores and medical facilities have been ordered to close.
China reported 206 new Covid-19 infections on its soil on Sunday.
This is the highest number of infections on a day since March 2020. The Asian country, where the first cases of Covid-19 were discovered two years ago in Wuhan (center), has nevertheless largely controlled the epidemic on its soil.
Life has returned to normal since the spring of 2020 and the country has officially recorded only two deaths in over a year.
