China’s zero-Covid policy, mass testing, restrictions cause alarm
The zero-Covid policy could be put in place for the next five years, as well as mass mandatory testing and travel restrictions in Beijing have caused confusion and alarm.
The notice published on Monday afternoon was issued by Cai Qi, the Beijing secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The original text said that in the next five years, Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalisation of epidemic prevention and control. The notice was first posted by Beijing Daily and republished by other state media outlets. It spread widely across social media but soon the reference to five years was removed from most online publications, and a related hashtag on Weibo was deleted.
It committed to maintain and improve the city's strict management of the joint prevention and control mechanism and the emergency response system, including those designed to shut down circulation and transfer of the virus through isolation, management and control as soon as transmissions occur. It also noted the continuation of strict residential inspections, the normalisation of regular testing, and the management of entry and exit to the city.
The country has committed to zero-Covid policy despite the fact that the rest of the world has chosen a path of coexistence or mitigation, under the direction of President Xi Jinping. Xi has ordered authorities to balance zero-Covid with economic growth, because the unpredictable measures grate with locals.
Monday s announcement and subsequent amendment caused anger and confusion among Beijing residents online. Most commenters were unsurprised by the prospect of the system continuing for another half-decade, but few were supportive of it.
One user said Countdown is on the way to escape China.
The ultimate goal of fighting the epidemic is to return to normal life, and it seems that everyone has forgotten about this, another noted.
In the next five years, a hashtag related to Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalisation of epidemic and control was viewed nearly 1 m times before it was removed within a few hours.
The statement or removal of the reference to five years hasn't been clarified by authorities. Some observers suggested the five years phrase was a term that was often used in government announcements but appeared to be a timeline in this context, or that it was erroneously added in by the original publisher of the notice, the Beijing Daily.
The Beijing Daily did not provide any clarification when contacted by the Guardian.
China's dynamic zero strategy was effective during outbreaks of earlier variants, but was challenged by the high transmissibility of Omicron. The policy resulted in a long, chaotic, and economically damaging lockdown in Shanghai, and tough travel and social curbs in Beijing. Other cities have had a lot of lock downs, either city-wide or neighbourhood specific. For residents who want to move around the city, many cities and provinces have enacted compulsory mass testing every few days.
On Sunday, Beijing announced in-person schooling would restart. Shanghai authorities reported no new cases at the weekend for the first time since March. The threat of sudden travel curbs or lock downs persists. Shenzhen locked down several residential buildings last week after a single case was reported. On Sunday, it was extended to close entertainment venues and parks, as case numbers climbed to a dozen.