Seven planes took off, according to the website of Xi’an
Xianyang International Airport. It said four were due to arrive Sunday.
Access to Xi’an, a city of 13 million people about 1,000
kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, was suspended Dec. 22 following an
outbreak attributed to the coronavirus’s delta variant.
The ruling Communist Party has stepped up enforcement of its
“zero tolerance” strategy that aims to keep the virus out of China by finding
and isolating every infected person. It suspended access to Xi’an and other
cities after outbreaks were found.
Nationwide, China reported 63 new confirmed infections in
the 24 hours through midnight Friday. That included 10 in Beijing and six in
the neighboring port city of Tianjin.
China’s official death toll stands at 4,636 out of 105,547
confirmed cases.
Xi’an has reported 2,053 cases since Dec. 9. None were
reported Friday.
Airline passengers who want to leave Xi’an are required to
show a negative test within the past 48 hours, the official Xinhua News Agency
reported. It said people from areas deemed at high risk for infection were
barred from the airport.
Authorities said Jan. 16 restrictions on low-risk areas of
Xi’an had been lifted at least in part. People who had been confined to their
homes in other areas were allowed out to buy daily necessities.
The severity of the lockdown on Xi’an prompted complaints
about food shortages. A pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage outside a
hospital after being refused admission, reportedly because she lacked a valid
virus test.
Authorities have called on the public to stay where they are
during the Lunar New Year instead of traveling to their hometowns for the
year’s most important family holiday. -AP