China has put 13 million residents on lockdown amid a spike in coronavirus cases as the nation prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing in a matter of weeks.
The northern city of Xi’an, just more than 600 miles northeast of Beijing, went into lockdown Wednesday after cases there spiked over the past week.
Xi’an reported at least 211 locally transmitted cases over the past week, 63 of which were reported on Thursday.
The restrictions in Xi’an rival China’s lockdown of more than 11 million people in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, in 2020.
China is also monitoring an uptick in Zhejiang province, further southeast of Beijing, but has avoided full lockdowns in the region, opting for more targeted isolations.
China has adopted strict measures to control the virus throughout the pandemic.
The government order, which went into effect Wednesday, allows one person from each household to leave home every two days to buy necessities.
China has reported 4,636 deaths among a total of 100,644 cases of COVID-19.
• This story is based on wire service reports.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
