Fauci can only dream about having this much power, alas for him. But maybe by next year.

China looks down city of 11 million people after 175 cases of China Flu appear, and they aren’t allowed out of their homes, even to buy food. “We’re starving”

Locked-down residents in one of China's biggest cities say they are at risk of starving in their homes after they were banned from going outside even to buy food under harsh new Covid measures sparked by just a few dozen cases.

Apparatchiks running the city of Xi'an on Monday told 13million people they are only allowed out of their homes when invited to take part in a new round of mass testing, or for medical emergencies.

Previously, one member of each household was allowed out once every two days to buy food. City officials said people in 'low risk' areas will be allowed out to buy essentials once testing is complete and if their results are negative.

The tightened lockdown measures prompted some Xi'an residents to turn to social media for help, saying they are 'starving' and appealing to neighbours for supplies. 

'I'm about to be starved to death,' wrote one person on Weibo, China's equivalent of Facebook. 'There's no food, my housing compound won't let me out, and I'm about to run out of instant noodles ... please help!' 

'I don't want to hear any more about how everything is fine,' said another. 'So what if supplies are so abundant - they're useless if you don't actually give them to people.'  

Xi'an's outbreak is being driven by the Delta variant and is believed to be linked to travel to Pakistan a week ago.

The city has been in lockdown since last Thursday when mass testing revealed a case had escaped quarantine and then spread the virus widely.

So far this month, Xi'an has reported 810 Covid cases - China's largest outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan.

The 13 million-person lockdown is also China's largest since Wuhan was locked down early in 2020, which affected 11million people. 

Besides the obvious thrill of dominating and controlling other people, every bureaucrat’s secret joy, there’s probably another factor at work here: the communist rulers will not abide failure to carry put their orders, and local government officials who don’t achieve what they’ve told to do are summarily removed from office in disgrace, and often jailed. Which, I think, explains why these people are out spraying disinfectant in the air and scrubbing down empty streets and park benches: it’s a totally worthless exercise, but the pols in charge hope to escape accusations that they failed to do everything even remotely possible necessary to conform to the Party’s diktats.

Related: Chinese lockdown rule-breakers are publicly shamed to ensure Covid rules are obeyed

Armed riot police in southern China have paraded four alleged violators of Covid rules through the streets, leading to criticism of the government's heavy handed approach. 

Four masked suspects in hazmat suits - carrying placards displaying their photos and names - were paraded Tuesday in front of a large crowd in Guangxi region's Jingxi city.

Photos of the event showed each suspect held by two police officers - wearing face shields, masks and hazmat suits - and surrounded by a circle of police in riot gear, some holding guns.

The public shaming was part of disciplinary measures announced by the local government in August to punish those breaking health rules. 

China banned such public shaming of criminal suspects in 2010 after decades of campaigning by human rights activists, but the practice has resurfaced as local governments struggle to enforce the national zero-Covid policy.