Amid the recent flare-up of COVID-19 cases since Dec. 9, 2021, Xi’an, the capital city of China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province, has been imposing harsh lockdown measures in an effort to bring down the cases. The city, which has a population of 13 million, was locked down abruptly on Dec. 23, 2021. Initially, one member from each household was allowed to shop for groceries and necessities every two days. But as confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to pile up despite the stringent measures, residents were further banned from leaving their homes except for COVID-19 testing on Dec. 26. A leaked document revealed that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) chief of the province set a Jan. 4 deadline by which Xi’an “must achieve the goal of societal zero COVIDF-19 cases.” The document has since been taken down from the Chinese intranet and is no longer accessible. Chaos, Increased Infection Risk Resulting from Government Policies: …