A deliveryman carries daily necessities at a residential area under closed-off management in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Dec. 31, 2021. Xi'an imposed closed-off management for communities and villages on Dec. 23 in an effort to curb the spread of the latest COVID-19 resurgence. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

As the lockdown of Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, entered its tenth day on Saturday, local authorities pledged to make every effort to ensure the supply of daily necessities to allow residents to mark a y suppliesamid lockdown to ensure a safe and comfortable New Year holiday. 

So far, seven patients in the recent Covid-19epidemic resurgence in Xi'an have been treatedcured and transferred to Xi'an Qinhuang Hospital for ongoing health monitoring. Most of the 1,444 locally reported cases are patients with mild or moderate symptoms, with 11 severe cases and two in critical conditioncritically sick, according to a briefing by local authorities on Saturday. 

On China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, some local residents posted photos of the fresh produce they received on the first day of 2022. 

City government officials said at a press conference on Friday that they have organized five large-scale vegetable wholesale markets to ensure stable supply of vegetable with daily supply to reach 13,000 tons citywide and would arrange the staff with low risk of infectionwith no infection risk to return to their workplaces in supermarkets, logistics operations, and distribution companies as soon as possible to address "last-kilometer" delivery challenges for residentialincommunities. 

China reported 175 local confirmed COVID-19 cases for Friday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC), with 174 cases reported in Xi'an. As of Friday, the city reported 1,451 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the latest flare-up which began on December 9. 

The city has launched five rounds of citywide nucleic acid testing since December 21. Local officials imposed tough curbs on travel for those within or leaving the city starting from December 23, in an effort to curb the spread of the infection.

Some have voiced dissatisfaction about the inconvenience caused byfollowing the city's lockdown as local residents faced challenges in buying fresh produce and daily necessities, according to media reports. 

According to the city government, supplies of essential goods remain adequate, and officials had begun arranging for grocery deliveries to households for free from Tuesday. 

Moreover, local medical resources have been deployed to ensure those who were infected receive timely treatment, China Central Television reported on Saturday, citing Yang Yi, an expert from a work team dispatched by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council. 

According to Yang, more than 40 medical teams have been deployed in Shaanxi, and have been distributed across a number of designated hospitals. Three designated hospitals have been put into use, with a fourth on standby, representing more than 3,000 beds. 

During an inspection of local COVID-19 control and prevention work in Xi'an on Friday, Liu Guozhong, the Party chief of Shaanxi Province, and Zhao Yide, Shaanxi's governor, urged responsible authorities at all levels to focus on ensuring people's basic needs are met, by doing a good job in the purchase, storage and distribution of essential supplies, so that local residents can enjoy a safe and comfortable New Year holiday. 

The Ministry of Finance urgently allocated 500 million yuan ($78.7million) in funding to supportof fund in supporting the province's anti-epidemic work on Friday, according to the ministry's website.   

Global Times