Country should take its Covid-19 victory lap
China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been successful. Given what we know about the virus, it is not so much the number of infections that matters but the number of deaths. The central government’s efforts went down well with the local population, as they were able to go about their lives in relative normalcy over the last two years when many parts of the world went through long periods of restrictions.
In recent months, however, significant restrictions have been put in place in major cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, under the Chinese government’s “dynamic zero-Covid” policy. While such restrictions have also been imposed in other countries in the past, the difference is in the timing.
In the United States, Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president, has to much fanfare declared that the country is out of the pandemic phase. In Europe, Covid-19 is not a topic of discussion any more and the last of the pandemic-related restrictions have been progressively lifted, including mask mandates in many countries.
China rightly maintains that human life is worth protecting and thus that allowing Covid-19 to spread in society can risk overwhelming the healthcare system. Despite the videos circulating online of unfortunate examples of mishandling by those enforcing the Covid-19 policy, Chinese people are very resilient.
However, in cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, which stand as the brightest examples of China’s might and progress and where local governments are renowned for their efficiency and pragmatism, some are questioning the necessity of the restrictions.
The current situation is very different from early in the pandemic as many are now vaccinated and the current dominant variant, Omicron, does not have as strong an effect as earlier ones such as Delta. I humbly submit, as a resident of China and a friend, it is time for the country to take its victory lap.
Jose Alvares, Macau