Some urgent and coercive measures taken by Xi’an in the latest round of the new crown epidemic have caused public discontent, and the epidemic prevention status of the city with a total population of about 13 million continues to be the focus of attention. ,
Shaanxi provincial capital, which has been locked down for two weeks, continues to experience various problems related to epidemic prevention measures, including insufficient food supplies for those who have been quarantined, and conflicts between quarantine personnel and people. Incidents such as
On Tuesday (January 4), as a new round of nucleic acid testing began in Xi’an City, the official big data mobile app for epidemic prevention and control, “Xi’an Yimatong”, reportedly crashed due to excessive traffic, And the epidemic prevention and control code of the public could not be displayed. This is the second time in the last ten days.
The Xi’an city government held a press conference on Monday, acknowledging that “inadequate preparation work” has rendered the public untimely during this period of the epidemic. Both the secretary of the Yanta District Party Committee and the head of the Yanta district, which was hit hardest by the epidemic, were both removed from their posts.
The city began to close down the city on 23 December, and the city’s communities (villages) and units implemented closed management. However, the number of newly diagnosed local cases exceeded 100 in a single day for more than a week, and it did not decrease slightly until January 2.
On social media, many Xi’an residents criticized the authorities, saying they still do not know “how the Xi’an epidemic spread” and “the chain of transmission has not been clarified so far.”
Emergency measures cause various problems
Xi’an is the epicenter of a new wave of the pandemic in mainland China, and authorities have taken quite radical measures.
The city’s 13 million residents are forced to stay at home, and it is difficult to even go outside to buy food or daily necessities. According to Chinese media reports, since Xi’an closed at midnight on December 23, each family in the non-key enclosed community can provide one person for two days to shop for daily necessities. On the 27th, prevention and control measures were suddenly increased, two-day mining was canceled, and residents were completely barred from going out.
Some residents of Xi’an were forced to leave their homes by quarantine officials at midnight, and then sent to quarantine locations, raising concerns on social media.
Since the global pandemic of the New Crown pandemic, mainland China has been a “zero-clearing” policy through official mandated measures such as city lockdowns, partially closed management, full nucleic acid testing, mandatory quarantine, and close tracking of big data is following. This has a significant impact on controlling the spread of epidemics, but the cost is often the convenience of people’s lives and personal liberty.
Yuzhou City, Henan Province, suddenly announced on January 2 that it would take emergency measures such as suspension of transportation, suspension of business, suspension of classes and access only.
Officials can expect this wave of outbreaks to end before the Lunar New Year and Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
The situation in Xi’an has made the atmosphere more tense and many people have recently posted complaints on social media.
Officials distributed free food to residents, but some said they received little supplies, and some did not even get food.
According to reports, residents of the Mingde 8 Miles community in the south of Xi’an were asked to leave their homes and move to isolation facilities after 0 a.m. on January 1.
It is believed to be caused by cases of infection in the community, and several Chinese media have reported that the community has become cross-infected during the process of detecting the new coronavirus.
There is no public information about how many people have been shifted, but some people reported on social media that 30 buses were seen outside the community, and another person claimed that 1,000 people had been shifted.
Some people said that they were dropped on the bus and waited for several hours. According to reports, the people sent to the quarantine location include the elderly, children and pregnant women. An old man stood alone on a cold winter night waiting for a photograph transferred, which was widely circulated on social networks and garnered widespread sympathy.
Some people posted pictures of the quarantine points, claiming that the equipment was too rudimentary, the environment was too cold, and they had not received food.
“Nothing, only the most basic facilities… No one came to see us, what kind of isolation? They moved a large number of people at night, over 1,000 people, many of them elderly and children, without any proper arrangements.” K, they just threw them. Here,” said one of the comments posted by the affected residents.
The incident attracted widespread attention on the social platform Weibo, and many questioned whether the transfer was necessary, as residents have been quarantined at home for nearly two weeks.
They were previously able to go out to buy food, but last week, Xi’an authorities tightened their measures, forcing residents to stay at home and only go out after testing positive for the new coronavirus .
stress and anxiety
These are part of several recent developments on Chinese social media regarding the tension and anxiety caused by Xi’an’s epidemic prevention measures. Since December 9, a total of 1,600 confirmed cases have been reported in the city.
Over the past weekend, a video showing a man being beaten up by quarantine staff for buying home-made steamed buns has been widely circulated. Xi’an government officials later confirmed that the employees concerned had been punished.
In another incident, a group of students were stuck in Xi’an after taking their postgraduate exams.one of the students saidI’ve been eating instant noodles for two weeks, and now only have five packs left.
Last week, the government claimed to ensure that people have access to food. Later, some people posted pictures on social media, showing the food they got.
“Thanks to the government-issued instant noodles, it’s time for dinner!” One person wrote on WeChat.
But some people say that they still find it difficult to meet the basic necessities of the day.
Several comments mentioned that isolation measures have prevented many women from getting basic supplies like sanitary napkins.
In more extreme incidents, some said on social media that because (residence) is in a moderate-risk area in big data, many hospitals in Xi’an did not receive treatment, resulting in patients not receiving treatment. time.
Xinguan Patient Hospital in Xi’an is also under construction. Three hospitals have been built and one is under construction.
According to Chinese state media reports, the new hospital will provide 3,000 additional beds for COVID-19 patients.
China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert Zhang Canyu told state media Zhongxin.com on Monday (January 3) that at the moment, “some positive changes have been seen”.