Chinese police have reportedly swarmed into hundreds of homes in a city and forcibly taken people to quarantine centers in the world's strictest lockdown.
According to The Sun, an unprecedented lockdown and stringent restrictions have been put in place throughout the nation to contain one of the deadliest outbreaks since the beginning of the COVID outbreak.
This is despite a number of very favorable studies demonstrating that Omicron is milder than other strains, the first official UK report indicating that the risk of hospitalization is 50 to 70% lower than that associated with Delta.
To allegedly stem the wave of COVID infections, the 13 million residents of Xian, a northern Chinese metropolis, have been barred from leaving their homes, even for the most basic of needs like purchasing food.
Xian, China's second-largest city, has been closed since Wuhan was shut down in January 2020 when the first COVID cases began to surface.
As of Dec. 9, 2021, Xian has reportedly registered 1,451 COVID cases, which is allegedly the highest figure for any Chinese city in 2021.
Chinese authorities, the report added, are firmly committed to a zero-tolerance policy for COVID, with stories of locals being taken away to quarantine camps in the wee hours of the night.
According to BBC News, it is not certain how many individuals were forcibly removed a during the night, although a witness saw 30 buses and another estimated up to a thousand.
It was, however reported that those under quarantine had not been provided food and that the conditions were frigid.
According to one person, "There is nothing here, just basic necessities... Nobody has come to check up on us, what kind of quarantine is this?
"They did a big transfer of us, more than a thousand people, in the night and many of us are elderly people and children.
"They didn't make any proper arrangements and so they just carelessly placed us [here]."
In an earlier report of The Sun, a staggering 12,000 testing stations have been put up in Xian, with more than 160,000 people being deployed to help contain the virus.
To do a "full-scale" thorough cleaning, they sprayed clouds of disinfectant over the whole city.
Those who attempt to defy the current lockdown or dodge the stricter restrictions are being punished by the authorities.
Anyone found driving will also face a possible prison sentence.
Vehicles on the roads will be "strictly inspected" by health authorities and police, and anyone who disobey the restrictions might face ten days in prison and a 500 yuan (£58) fine if they are caught.
People who live in the city that has been shut down are only permitted to leave their homes to take a COVID test or in the event of a medical emergency.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has also reportedly sent a frightening warning, urging local authorities to take more "targeted and forceful" actions to deter individuals from breaking the law.
Residents, on the other hand, have turned to social media to plead for help, claiming that they are starving and have seen no indication of assistance.
In response, the state-owned Global Times reports that there is a shortage of deliverymen due to the fact that many of them are themselves quarantined.
Meanwhile, armed police officers in another city humiliated "rule breakers" by escorting them through the streets.
Four persons in hazmat suits and masks were reportedly paraded in front of spectators in Jingxi, Guangxi's southernmost city, for allegedly violating the city's lockdown laws.
