The locked-down Chinese city of Xi'an on Monday tightened coronavirus restrictions to the “strictest” level, banning residents from driving cars around town in an effort to control the country's worst outbreak in 21 months.
China has stuck to a “zero-Covid” strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors for February's Winter Olympics.
Xi'an — where 13 million residents are facing their fifth day of home confinement — is at the centre of a flare-up that has pushed nationwide daily infections to their highest numbers since March last year.
Restrictions tightened further on Monday as Xi'an announced it would impose the “strictest social control measures”, according to a city government social media account.
The northern city — home to the world-famous Terracotta Army — recorded 150 new cases on Monday, bringing the total locally transmitted cases to 635 since December 9.
No vehicles are allowed on the roads unless they are assisting with disease control work, the latest announcement said.
Police and health officials will “strictly inspect” cars, and those who break the rules could face 10 days' detention and a fine of 500 yuan ($78).
Two other cities in Shaanxi province also reported a case linked to Xi'an, as authorities urged migrant workers from the city not to travel home for the coming Chinese New Year holidays.
Since locking down the city last week, authorities have launched several rounds of mass testing and placed nearly 30,000 people in hotel quarantine.
On Monday, Xi'an launched a fresh round of mass testing, state media reported.
All non-essential businesses have been shut, while each household can only send out one person to buy necessities every three days.
The Xi'an government has come under fire for its perceived poor handling of the outbreak, with China's disciplinary body saying last week that 26 local officials had been punished for lapses in virus prevention.
Authorities have strictly limited movement into and out of the city, with footage from state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday showing lorries waiting at road checkpoints as workers in hazmat suits checked health codes on drivers' mobile phones.
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.
Omicron around the world — in pictures
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A locked gate blocks access to a bar area in Berlin. Germany's government has put a lid on New Year celebrations, with nightclubs slated to close from December 28 onwards. AFP -
A jogger runs past the Covid-19 Memorial Wall in London. EPA -
People receive the Moderna booster at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium. Many are flocking to receive their booster shots amid surging Omicron infections. AP -
People wearing face masks pose for a photo outside a coffee shop with Christmas-themed decorations in Athens, Greece. AP -
A woman tapes the word "Omicron" to a handmade effigy depicting the Omicron coronavirus variant in Managua. The effigies will be burnt at midnight on December 31 as a tradition of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new. AFP -
Delivery workers of South Korea's leading logistics company CJ Logistics Corporation protest in the capital Seoul over working conditions. EPA -
Shoppers hunt for bargains in Tokyo as people prepare for the New Year celebrations. Authorities in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have announced free PCR tests to reduce infection risk especially during the holidays in Japan. EPA -
Travellers at the international airport in Samut Prakan, Thailand. Authorities have suspended quarantine-free entry to the country for all passengers, to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. EPA -
People queue for Covid-19 status checks before entering the Egyptian Museum, in Turin, northern Italy. EPA -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test at a pop-up testing site as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York. Reuters -
Workers check the body temperatures of pupils arriving for Year 12 examinations at a school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA -
Thousands of people on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 26. Brazil's beaches are crowded with the arrival of summer despite the worldwide spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Authorities will hold a New Year's Eve party on the Copacabana shore. Getty Images -
People gather during a demonstration of the cultural sector against the closure of venues under new rules put into place against Covid-19, in Brussels, Belgium. EPA -
Shoppers during Boxing Day sales in Glasgow. New restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Getty Images -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test in Times Square as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in New York City. Reuters -
Hospital workers gather for a selfie in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the La Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France. One of the country’s largest hospitals, La Timone has weathered wave after wave of coronavirus. AP -
Cricket fans arrive on the first day of the third Ashes Test between Australia and England in Melbourne, Australia. EPA -
A screen at the San Francisco International Airport shows cancelled United Airlines flights to Chicago O'Hare and Cleveland on Christmas Eve. EPA -
Travellers wait for trains on the eve of Christmas, at Euston Station in London. EPA -
Pastries named "virus" and "vaccine" on display in the window of a cafe and pastry shop in Prague, Czech Republic. Countries in central Europe are preparing for what many fear will be a fifth wave of the coronavirus brought on by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Getty Images -
People wait to receive vaccine doses at a shopping centre in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. EPA -
People rush to receive Covid-19 testing kits from city workers in the Brooklyn area of New York. The city is handing out thousands of the kits, which include two tests per box, as part of efforts to reduce the surge of people in long lines at testing sites. AFP -
People queue on Christmas Day for booster shots in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EPA -
Newly elected President Gabriel Boric receives the third booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine in Santiago, Chile. Getty Images
