Xi'an upgrades comprehensive measures to curb latest COVID-19 resurgence

A medical worker works at the air-inflated testing lab for COVID-19 nucleic acid test in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Dec. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

The city has conducted several rounds of citywide nucleic acid testing. "The massive tests are conducive to early detection, quarantine, and interruption of the disease, and it minimizes the possibility of transmission," said He Wenquan, a senior official with the Xi'an municipal government.

The city has now set up more than 5,000 sample collecting venues, with more than 31,000 sample collectors. More than 1,200 mobile sample collecting teams have also been dispatched to construction sites, shops, and stalls to provide more access for residents.

"All confirmed cases have been quarantined and treated in a designated hospital. National- and provincial-level experts have been invited to improve the epidemic prevention and control efforts and treatment at the hospital," said Lyu Yongpeng, deputy director of the municipal health commission. Lyu added that traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine are adopted in the treatment, and all patients are in stable condition.

Examinees leave a venue of the postgraduate entrance exam at Xi'an University of Technology in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Dec. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

China's annual postgraduate entrance exam is scheduled from Dec. 25 to 27 this year, with some 4.6 million candidates.

Under the intensified anti-epidemic efforts, 135,000 sat the exam in Xi'an. To minimize the impacts on the exam, the city government has tailored exam plans for the examinees, including those infected and close contacts. ■

By Xia Xiao,Lin Juan,He Zhanjun,Li Hua,Sun Zhenghao, Zhang Sijie,Xu Zuhua,Li Hao