China worried as Covid cases rise in Xian during holiday season

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<strong>China's top politicians, including Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, has urged swift virus containment measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Xian, the capital city of Northwest China's Shannxi province.</strong></p>
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Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during her recent inspection in Xian.<br />
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As many as 150 local symptomatic cases were reported from Xian – a city of 13 million people – on Sunday and around 155 on Saturday as China's central authorities pledged to <a href="http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2021-12/24/c_85433.htm">tighten</a> Covid-19 prevention and control measures to resolutely prevent the resurgence and spread of the epidemic during the holiday season.<br />
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The latest epidemic resurgence in Xian, triggered by imported infections, has spread to its 14 district-level areas and seen community transmission, making the virus containment situation grave and complicated.<br />
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Over 135,000 students sat for the postgraduate exam in Xian over the weekend amid growing concerns.<br />
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As reported by IndiaNarrative.com last week, the Chinese city was put under a strict lockdown as the country faces one of the biggest outbreaks of Covid-19 cases in the past few months.<br />
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China's health ministry is currently carrying out large-scale citywide testing in Xian, once the starting point for the ancient Silk Road.<br />
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According to China's National Health Commission, the country has had 1,01,277 <a href="http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2021-12/26/c_85438.htm">confirmed</a> cases and 4,636 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions till December 26.<br />
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Local media quoted health officials saying that the situation remains "dire and complex" as the caseload is expected to climb in the coming days due to the New Year's Day and the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.</p>
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