Residents shop at a supermarket in Qujiang New District of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. File photo: Xinhua

 
Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, announced on Friday temporary control measures from 0:00 on Saturday to 24:00 on Tuesday, requiring residents to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities, conducting closed-off management of shopping malls and other public venues, and strengthening prevention measures, in order to decrease infection risk.

As of Friday, Xi'an, a city with more than 13 million residents, has reported 43 domestic cases. The control measures were announced on Friday night and this flare-up was caused by the Omicron variant. Some confirmed cases have been among logistics staff who have had close contacts with the public.

Given the difficulty of conducting epidemiological surveys and the risk of infection through people-to-people contacts and through materials to people, the city authorities decided to take the temporary control measures, according to a press release from Xian's anti-epidemic command center.

According to the release, residents are encouraged not to go outside their residential communities, with volunteers being deployed to register and take the temperature of those who come in and out. 

Working from home is also being encouraged, except for students in the third year of middle school and high school. Other students will have online classes. Shopping malls, entertainment venues such as cinemas and museums, and markets in villages are temporarily closed. Prisons and nursing homes will follow closed-off management.

Restaurants will only provide take-out services and logistics industries are being required to firmly implement prevention measures. Passengers for public transportation will also need to show negative nucleic acid test results. 

The press release also noted that residential communities need to take special care of seniors who live alone, pregnant women, and residents with disabilities or diseases. 

China on Friday reported 3,472 domestic cases and 20,694 asymptomatic ones with the majority found in Shanghai, where closed-off measures have also been implemented.