Foreigners in Xi'an confident and upbeat amid outbreak

XI'AN－Ushurova Sofiya, a professor from Kazakhstan at the school of law in Xi'an Jiaotong University, celebrated her 48th birthday on Dec 15. She has not left her home since that date.

Xi'an, the megacity in northwestern China where she lives, is in a bitter fight against a new wave of COVID-19 infections.

With the latest resurgence triggered by imported infections on Dec 9, the city had registered a total of 1,655 locally transmitted cases as of Monday. Closed-off management has therefore been imposed in communities and villages in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

"We have to take the virus seriously. In fact, staying at home is part of our efforts to curb its spread," says Sofiya.

Though being cooped up, the family is busy as usual－Sofiya enjoys reading, preparing lectures while her three children are taking online classes. Her husband serves as a volunteer delivering vegetables to local residents.

Although their lives have been disrupted, she is fully supportive. "One of my family members outside China was infected and passed away. So I totally support the measures taken by China, which truly value people's life and health."

To Dev Raturi, a 45-year-old Indian, the sudden hit of the pandemic has given him some precious family time.

Having been in China for 17 years, Raturi was busy in his restaurant business spread across five Chinese cities. "China is my promised land," says the restaurateur and part-time actor.

"I had been occupied with business trips, leaving little time with my family over the past year. But now we can do a lot at home: cook meals, do exercise and have fun with my kids," says Raturi.

Though the recent outbreak of COVID-19 forced Raturi to close all his five restaurants in Xi'an, he remains optimistic. "It's a big loss, but only a short-time loss," he says, noting that strict management is necessary to tide over the current difficulties.

"The world was not under control in the past two years as cases are still jumping in many Western countries. But China did a very good job in controlling it. I am sure things will go back to normal soon, so we don't have to worry," he adds.

His confidence is rooted in a slew of epidemic prevention and control measures introduced recently. "We take a nucleic acid test almost every day, and community staff help us get daily necessities. They are very supportive and comforting."

"All is well," Puriya Daei, 32, told his family in Iran via video link. The young man came to Xi'an a couple of years ago to work in the apple business, as Shaanxi province, where Xi'an is located, produces about one-seventh of the total global apple output.

"I do not feel panic because China has taken comprehensive measures to deal with the virus. I've been fully vaccinated and take tests regularly," Daei says.

Despite rising confirmed cases in Xi'an, more and more people are gradually steering their life back to normality and picking up new hobbies. Pakistani student Alvi of Northwestern Polytechnic University has learned to cook several Chinese dishes and write Chinese characters recently.

"Cheer up, Xi'an," Alvi says in Chinese.

Xinhua