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.