China's local symptomatic coronavirus cases have crept up again, with most new infections reported in the northwestern city of Xian as it entered the fifth day of a lockdown, Reuters reports.

Xian's caseload — 150 local symptomatic cases in the last 24 hours versus 155 a day earlier — remains tiny compared with many clusters overseas, but it has imposed tough curbs on travel inside and out of town, underpinning Beijing's drive to contain flare-ups as soon as possible.

In Xian, a two hour flight southwest of Beijing, residents cannot leave the city without approval from employers or local authorities, and households can send only one person to shop for necessities every two days. Other family members may not leave home unless they have essential jobs or urgent matters to attend to, approved by employers or communities.

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