Local reports claim that 1,000 residents were forced from their homes in China by an unruly city. They were taken away to quarantine areas.

Xian’s 13 million residents have been confined to their homes since December 23 and are banned from leaving even for food and essential supplies, having to rely on local officials to drop off care packages.

Popular tourist destination, known for its Terracotta Warriors has seen 1,600 cases of this virus since December 9. Although it may not seem like a large number, Beijing wants to eradicate the virus before the Winter Olympics.

The new epicentre at Xian is testing its aggressive ‘zero Covid” strategy.   

The latest scandalous measure was that 30 buses arrived in Mingde 8 Yingli just after midnight January 1, and told residents to leave the area and enter quarantine.

Health officials in full PPE stand beside busses and police cars in pictures uploaded to Chinese social media site Weibo from Xian

In photos uploaded to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform from Xian by Weibo, health officials wearing full PPE are seen standing beside police cars and buses.

A line of busses are seen surrounding the block during the quarantining in Xian

Residents are escorted from their homes with luggage prepared for their quarantine

A row of buses can be seen around the block during the quarantining process in Xian. Right; residents are taken from their homes and given their baggage for the quarantine.

China has seen a recent spike in infections, the majority from the city of Xian, but the official figures remain very low

China recently saw an increase in the number of infections. The majority were from Xian. Official figures are still very low. 

Xian, a city of 13 million, is a tourist hotspot famed for its Terracotta Warriors. It is a two hour flight from Beijing which hosts the Winter Olympics in February

Xian (a Chinese city with 13 million inhabitants) is a tourist attraction known for its Terracotta Warriors. You can fly two hours from Beijing to reach Xian, where the Winter Olympics will be held in February. 

Weibo uploaded photos showing Chinese health officers in their full PPE, standing alongside a bus convoy flanked with police cars.

According to one user, up to 1000 people were taken off the streets. Another claimed that they saw 30 buses around their neighborhood.

Additional images online show cramped quarters in the quarantine facility, including tiny desks and bunk beds.

Some others claimed the rooms were too cold, and the officials didn’t make proper arrangements to accommodate elderly and children.

There is no food or water here. It was quite a large move, over a thousand, and most of us were elderly and young children. They made no arrangements, so just placed us without any thought. [here]”,” reads one affected resident.

This is the latest in a series of incidents in this locked-down community to cause fury online. Residents claim they have been starved in their homes due to lack of food from authorities.

Last week, officials admitted that the difficulty in supplying essential supplies had been caused by low staff participation and logistical and distribution difficulties.

Last week, one Weibo user wrote that “I am about to die from starvation,” “There is no food in my compound, I can’t leave it, and I am about to run out instant noodles. Please help!” 

One person said, “I don’t want to hear any more about how everything is perfect.” “So what, supplies can be so plentiful – but they are useless if not given to the people. 

Pictures posted online purported to show the austere living quarters inside the quarantine facilities, with cheap bunk beds

Quarantine bunk beds in Xian

Images posted online claimed to show cramped quarters in the quarantine facility, including cheap bunk beds. 

A bunk bed in the quarantine facility

A desk with a metal stool in the facility

The dull furniture in the quarantine units of Xian

Xian official Chen Jianfeng told reporters that the local government had mobilised enterprises to step up community distribution, with cadres supervising wholesale markets and supermarkets.

He stated that he was trying to help with staff turnover and issuing passes for vehicles which will guarantee supply of essentials.

Xian reported a paltry 90 new local virus cases on Monday, down from 122 cases a day before. 

According to an official notice Liu Guozhong, a provincial official stated that he had entered into a “general state of attack” and added that it was essential to reach the goal of eliminating coronavirus infections as quickly as possible.

A medical worker tests a resident in Xian on Sunday

An Xian resident is screened by a doctor on Sunday

Two workers cross the roads in the deserted city of Xian on December 31

Two people cross roads in the deserted city Xian, December 31, 2012.

A truck sprays disinfectant on street in Xi'an in China's northern Shaanxi province on December 31

One truck sprays disinfectant along streets of Xi’an (China’s northern Shaanxi) on December 31st

According to local media reports, Xian declared that the Yanta District’s two top Communist Party officers had been fired in order to’strengthen work of epidemic control and prevention’.

China’s highest disciplinary authority announced that several officials were being punished last month for their insufficient rigour when preventing or controlling the outbreak.

China has reported 161 total cases. Most of these were located in Shaanxi Province, where Xian, the capital, was the scene.

No new deaths were reported, so the death total remains unchanged at 4,636.