(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture shows an empty road in Xi'an in China's northern Shaanxi province on December 31, 2021, amid a Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown.
Xi'an, the epicenter of COVID-19 in China, is experiencing food and supplies shortages amid another hard lockdown.
According to reports, three cases of omicron were detected in Xi'an that led to the government imposing another lockdown. However, their decision to do so earned criticisms from the public.
Since residents must stay at home, they are forced to barter and trade with their neighbors for food and other essential supplies.
Xi'an residents bartering for basic supplies
Photos show that some residents from Xi'an are exchanging their game consoles for food like vegetables or rice. Others are also trading cotton buds and sanitary napkins for other supplies.
"People are swapping stuff with others in the same building, because they no longer have enough food to eat," one resident said via the BBC.
A Weibo user also said that the helpless citizens had already reached an era of bartering and noted that it seems residents returned to primitive society.
Besides the shortage of food and supplies, hospitals in Xi'an are also struggling to accommodate non-COVID-19 patients.
A woman's father claimed that she was turned down by a local hospital even after her dad died from a heart attack because the deceased isn't a covid patient.
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Xi'an COVID-19 outbreak is the worst
According to reports, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in China is regarded as the worst that the country has seen in months as they try to pursue a zero-covid strategy.
All vehicles have also been banned from the roads, and all stores and businesses except those that supply essentials have been closed down.
According to CNN, Xi'an residents have also criticized the government's COVID-19 response. Some of them expressed their frustrations for not being able to purchase enough supplies before the lockdown because the government assured them that there wouldn't be any shortage.
The city lockdown started before the New Year. At first, one member from the household was still allowed to go out and buy supplies every two days. But following a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases, the government announced that no one is allowed to leave their homes.
And the only people that could do so are the ones that will be getting tested.
Xi'an residents tried to escape the lockdown
There were also reports that some individuals tried to escape Xi'an before the lockdown. One of the two men was caught after eight days into his journey to escape the city.
Another individual tried to escape the city the day before the lockdown to return to his hometown but was caught and fined 200 yuan.
According to SFGATE, the citizens' morale was dampened further after a video of guards attacking a man who tried to bring food into a residential compound.
Officials also received threats that they could lose their jobs if the number of COVID-19 cases didn't go down.
Zhang Canyou, an expert with the State Council's epidemic prevention and control team, admitted that there is an ongoing shortage of supplies.
However, he also insisted that the government is doing everything that it can to ensure that it will provide people with their basic needs and medical services.
