(Bloomberg) -- Authorities in China’s contentious Xinjiang region have apologized for shortages of food and medicine in areas that have been locked down for a month to contain a Covid-19 outbreak. 

Reports of shortages and tough conditions in Yili, a part of of northern Xinjiang bordering Kazakhstan, have been swirling on Chinese social media for days, with some claiming posts on the situation were being censored. Officials admitted Friday that there had been issues, with Liu Qinghua, deputy governor of the affected area, saying the lockdown had prevented some from accessing hospital treatment, and that there had been problems distributing food. 

Liu said the local government apologized “deeply for the impact and inconvenience brought by Covid control measures to people’s lives” and vowed to rectify the situation, according to a video recording of the briefing. 

A vast region in China northwest, Xinjiang is home to a number of ethnic groups, including the minority Uyghurs. China tightly controls the area, saying it’s fighting separatism and religious extremism there, though it has been accused of a raft of human-rights abuses aimed at assimilating the mostly Muslim Uyghurs and other groups. Authorities appear to have used the security apparatus built to quell political dissent in Xinjiang and other outlying areas to combat pushback against Covid restrictions, as well. 

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With China’s borders effectively closed as part of its Covid Zero approach, however, Xinjiang’s popularity as a domestic tourist destination has surged. 

Like other travel locales in China this summer, the region -- known for its dramatic scenery and history as a Silk Road gateway -- has seen outbreaks of Covid, which have triggered lockdowns and mass testing efforts: Disruptive moves aimed at eliminating cases in line with the country’s virus playbook. 

Yining City in Yili, home to some 500,000 people, has been locked down since at least Aug. 11. Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, also remains locked down, along with other areas. The region reported 28 Covid infections for Saturday, down from more than 400 a day last month. 

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Covid Zero Intensified

Food prices in some areas of Xinjiang subject to stay-at-home orders were being jacked up by suppliers, and there have been complaints about the quality of groceries provided by residential committees, according to local media reports. Unlike in the West, residents typically can’t leave their homes in China’s Covid lockdowns. Those that can are usually subjected to limits on how long they can shop and the number of people who can go. 

As China has intensified its response against Covid this year, the lockdowns have become more intense, with food shortages and problems accessing medical care widespread during Shanghai’s two-month lockdown.

With the Communist Party’s once-in-five-years congress looming in mid-October, Covid restrictions are becoming more uncompromising, with officials in Guiyang, a city of 6 million in China’s south that was recently locked down also saying they’d seen issues with food and other supplies. 

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The disruption is being felt beyond the lives of those who are locked down, with the measures upending businesses and supply chains, despite government efforts to mitigate the impact. Economists have been revising down expectations for Chinese growth this year, as Covid Zero saps productivity and consumer demand. 

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