China orders 13 million Xi’an residents to stay home over COVID-19 outbreak

The northern Chinese city of Xi’an ordered all 13 million residents to stay home in a strict lockdown on Wednesday (Dec 22), while dramatically tightening travel controls to fight a growing COVID-19 outbreak. With Beijing preparing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February, China is on high alert as it fights local outbreaks in several cities.

China study warns of ‘colossal’ COVID outbreak if it opens up like U.S., France

China could face more than 630,000 COVID-19 infections a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance policies by lifting travel curbs, according to a study by Peking University mathematicians. In the report published in China CDC Weekly by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the mathematicians said China could not afford to lift travel