China Orders Millions More Into Lockdown After Covid Flare-Up

Banned from driving and limited to sending one household member every 3 days for groceries, many residents of Chinese city Xi'an -- where 'strictest' Covid controls are in order -- have taken to social media, calling for help in acquiring food and essentials.

Hundreds of thousands more people were ordered to stay home in northern China Tuesday, joining millions under strict lockdown as authorities raced to contain a surge in Covid cases that have reached a 21-month high.

China -- where the virus emerged two years ago -- has followed a "zero-Covid" strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors to February's Winter Olympics.

But authorities have faced a resurgent virus in recent weeks, reporting 209 infections on Tuesday -- the highest single-day tally since March last year, when the pandemic raged through the central city of Wuhan.

The surge -- while low in comparison to rampant cases in Europe and the United States -- has prompted authorities to impose what they have called the "strictest" possible curbs in the northern city of Xi'an, whose 13 million residents are entering a sixth day of home confinement.