The Conscious Choice
Shanghai sticks to dynamic zero-COVID approach, while minimizing lockdown costs
Shanghai, the economic powerhouse of China, is now the country’s major battlefield against COVID-19. The worst flare-up nationwide since the early days of the pandemic has put the city in a hard place.
As of April 13, the city had seen 14,471 confirmed local cases since early March, with 6,646 cured, 7,818 treated in hospital, and seven fatalities; 25,141 local asymptomatic infections remained under medical observation. The city, with a population of over 25 million, has been under lockdown since March 28.
Shanghai was previously seen as a prime example of epidemic prevention and control courtesy of its excellent data-based tracing system, swiftly and precisely locating any close contacts and sealing off smaller areas to prevent the virus’ further spread. But this time, the Omicron variant has a stronger transmission capacity with a higher proportion of asymptomatic carriers going under the radar, making it more difficult to detect in the early stages of infection.
Insufficient preparations and underestimated risks had led to the current situation, Ma Chunlei, Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal Government, said at a press conference on March 31.
Tracing capability needs vast improvement when dealing with Omicron, and only swifter action can avoid community transmission, experts said.
The virus has widely spread among Shanghai’s local societies. As the average incubation period for the Omicron variant is only three days, an infected person might not even test positive in the first two days, according to Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Repeated citywide nucleic acid testing is necessary to end the current resurgence as soon as possible, Wu said on social media on April 7, stressing that those who are infected, but test negative, might infect others if not identified immediately during the following screenings.
Lockdown challenges
Both the Wuhan lockdown in Hubei Province two years ago and the one in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, earlier this year produced problems like food supplies running low. And Shanghai residents faced a similar predicament immediately after the stay-athome order took effect.
Shanghai has sufficient goods; the problem lies in the logistics, Cui Lili, Director of the Institute of E-Commerce with the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told Beijing Review.
“Group buying community leaders” have therefore taken on a significant role in all of the megacity. Thanks to these people, their communities can get enough food in from the outside. These “leaders” are usually young adults who are either very familiar with e-commerce or who come with solid food-buying resources.