Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university’s residential area under lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China, on December 20, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

China has intensified COVID-19 restrictions in Xi’an and rolled out a fifth round of mass testing, as the city announces record high daily infections since the start of the pandemic.

Xi’an, in northwestern Shaanxi Province, reported 175 new local cases on Tuesday, prompting the government to introduce the new measures.

According to a statement issued by the government, under the newly prescribed restrictions, which include the largest lockdown since Wuhan’s surging pandemic, the residents are banned from leaving their homes except for testing or urgent reasons such as medical emergencies. In addition, university students are required to stay inside their dormitories unless for special needs, while staff at supermarkets, convenience stores, and logistics centers must wear N95 face masks and medical gloves.

The city has reported a total number of 810 cases this month, making it one of the worst epicenters in China since the initial wave of COVID-19 infections in Wuhan.

As infections surged, Xi’an, a city of 13 million people, rolled out city-wide testing and enforced strict lockdowns last week, closing schools, public venues, and transportation, as part of its zero cases strategy.

Authorities began disinfecting procedures on Sunday, spraying disinfectant chemicals on roads, underground railways, and buildings.

According to reports by Chinese state media, around 150 medical forces of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force are sent over to Xi’an to assist with the testing and immunization procedures in local hospitals.

Even though there have been no reported cases of the Omicron variant in Xi’an so far, the government cancelled 681 flights departing and arriving at the city’s airport on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, according to official data from China’s National Health Commission, 209 new symptomatic cases were detected across the Chinese mainland on Monday, with 182 linked to local transmissions and 27 from overseas. That was the highest number of daily symptomatic infections in China since March 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic, China has registered over 101,000 infections and less than 5,000 fatalities.