China has revealed plans to quarantine 13 million people in the event of a flu outbreak. Officials in the city of Xi’an have made emergency plans to close schools, businesses and public buildings as the country battles a sudden surge in flu cases and plans to lock down the entire city for fear of an outbreak.
Outrage over China’s plans to lock down a city of 13 million people over a flu outbreak. The sharp increase in the number of cases across China has led to a shortage of antiviral drugs in pharmacies in many parts of the country. The planning comes just months after President Xi Jinping lifted draconian coronavirus laws after weeks of historic protests against the restrictions.
Authorities in the city of Xi’an now say they may return to lockdown “if necessary” to combat future flu outbreaks. And the plans provoked angry reactions and many reacted to the plans as “excessive”.
Some said that local officials are “addicted to closure and control”. On the Chinese social network Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, one user wrote: “Isn’t it enough to torture people before we think about doing it again and again?” Another wrote: “If we’re going to be in quarantine because of the flu, then won’t we have to be in quarantine every time the flu season comes? We’re not going back.”
Another third surfer appealed to the officials to “vaccinate the public instead of creating a sense of panic”. Another noted that flu outbreaks in the days before the Corona epidemic never brought any kind of lockdown. Xi’an has faced some of China’s strictest lockdowns during the pandemic, with locals banned from leaving their homes even to buy food and basic supplies.