Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province started to implement seven-day temporary control measures from July 6 to curb the spread of COVID-19, local authorities said.

The current outbreak in Xi'an is being driven by the Omicron subvariant BA.5, according to the Shaanxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

A girl gets tested in Xi'an on July 5. [Photo/Xi'an Daily]

From July 2 to 5, the city reported a total of 11 local confirmed cases under isolation and treatment in hospital and 18 asymptomatic infections under isolation and medical observation.

On July 5, Xi'an launched a new round of city-wide nucleic acid testing. Since July 2, about 27.78 million samples have been tested, and risk areas have been effectively identified through nucleic acid testing.

Currently, there are nine high-risk areas and 10 medium-risk areas in the city.

From July 6, public entertainment and leisure places, personnel gathering business places, public cultural activity venues and rural markets are suspending business for one week, as well as training institutions.

All catering units in the city are suspending dine-ins for one week as well, but can provide takeaways such as in-store pick-ups, and can fulfill online or telephone orders.