COVID-19 Update: China locks down Xi'an as coronavirus numbers surge

Authorities have also suspended most of passenger trains and all domestic flights coming into and leaving Xi'an, according to the state broadcaster CCTV.

Associated Press

December 28, 2021 / 12:32 IST

Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, famed for the Terracotta Warriors and other imperial relics. Representative Image: AP)

The Chinese city of Xi'an tightened its lockdown measures and launched a new round of mass virus tests after daily coronavirus infections went beyond 150 three days in a row.

Authorities recorded 175 local cases on December 27, as it grapples with an outbreak that has pushed China's daily cases to record highs since early last year.

The 175 infections reported in Xi'an, in the northwestern Shaanxi province, were up from 162 on December 26, and 158 the day before, according to a government notice issued on December 28, bringing the total number of local cases to 810 in the city.

Authorities imposed lockdown on the 13-million residents in Xi'an on December 23 as they attempted to curb the spread.

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COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

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There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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