China orders lockdown of up to 13 million people in Xi’an

Residents line up for tests at a Covid-19 testing site in Xi’an in north-western China’s Shaanxi Province (Li Yibo/Xinhua via AP)

China has ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighbourhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, following a surge in coronavirus cases.

State media reported that city officials ordered all residents to stay at home unless they had a pressing reason to go out, and suspended all transport to and from the city apart from special cases.