China is redoubling its attempts to contain fresh virus outbreaks, including a lockdown of the northern metropolis of Xi'an's 13 million residents in response to a spike in coronavirus cases.

The announcement comes just weeks before China holds the Winter Olympics in Beijing, almost 1,000 kilometers (6,210 miles) to the west.

There was no information on whether the virus was the recently emerged omicron strain or the far more prevalent delta strain. China has reported only seven omicron instances - four in Guangzhou's southern manufacturing hub, two in Changsha's southern metropolis, and one in Tianjin's northern port.

China has also been battling a significant epidemic in numerous places in the eastern province of Zhejiang, near Shanghai, though isolation measures have been more targeted there.

Authorities have implemented stringent pandemic control measures in pursuit of zero new transmissions, which has resulted in regular lockdowns, universal masking, and mass testing. While the approach has not been successful, Beijing credits it with essentially controlling the virus's spread.

The Xi'an restrictions are among the strictest since China placed a rigorous lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around Wuhan, China's center city, in late 2019.

Xi'an reported an additional 63 locally transmitted cases on Thursday, bringing the city's total to at least 211 in the last week. Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, which is renowned for its imperial treasures and as an important industrial center.

"We are not receiving any new guests and no present guests are allowed to leave the hotel," a receptionist at the Hanting Hotel in Xi'an stated, using only her surname, Li.

"Including the guests, we are required to take a test once every two days." As Li stated. "There will be an impact on our business and we have no idea how long it will last."

The owner of a nearby bookshop stated that he had closed ten days prior, "fearing the worsening of the epidemic situation."

"I am now staying at home watching television." the owner explained, using only his surname, Xiao.

He stated that outside his compound, he sought approval from the neighborhood committee. "I think the situation will get better eventually, and I don't worry at all because we have the government behind us," Xiao added.

According to a government mandate, each home will be permitted one person out every two days to purchase basic needs. It went into force at midnight Wednesday, with no indication of when it could be lifted.

China reported 4,636 deaths out of a total of 100,644 COVID-19 cases.