What’s Going On In China? Flu Outbreak Ushers Covid-Like Lockdowns As Cases Rise

An influenza outbreak in China has picked up intensity over the past week as the northwestern city of Xi’an imposed a pandemic-style lockdowns to curb the surge in infections, Bloomberg reported.

The positivity rate for flu jumped to 41.6% this week from 25.1% the previous week, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said, as per Bloomberg while the Covid positivity rate was down to 3.8% from 5.1%

The city of Xi’an said that it would employ measures similar to those used to curb Covid-19 which would include school and business closures included in the response. Xi’an has a population of nearly 13 million residents who were locked down for a month in 2021 because of Covid. The positivity rate has increased for six consecutive weeks, according to government data.

But the authorities were criticised for choosing to impose lockdowns to curb the influence outbreak, CNN reported. The popular tourist destination which is located in Shaanxi province imposed an emergency response plan that would allow it to close down businesses, schools, and “other crowded locations”.

CNN reported that on China’s version of Twitter- Weibo- residents argued that it would be better to vaccinate rather than initiate lockdowns.

“How would people not panic considering that Xi’an’s suggestion to halt business and work activities was issued without specific guidance on the national level to identify the disease?,” a user asked.

This also comes amid reports that many pharmacies in China are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for flu medications.