The new COVID-19 flare-ups China is facing, which have spread to more than half of its provinces and municipalities, are more “complicated” than the Nanjing airport coronavirus cluster spread, health analysts said. This is because there are multiple sources, many of which remain unknown, and it involves a wide scope of infection set against the onset of winter which makes it easier for the virus to propagate, the experts said, urging that people remain cautious.
Faced with continued outbreaks of COVID-19, health experts believe China cannot abandon its zero-tolerance approach for now, despite attacks in the Western media which the experts see as an attempt to drag China into the same quagmire they are experiencing. China will carefully evaluate the conditions for changing its epidemic prevention policies, including evaluating the situation in other countries that have opened their borders, which could serve as a reference for China.
At least 18 Chinese provinces and municipalities, with Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality and Chengdu in Sichuan the latest, reported confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday. The capital Beijing reported four new cases on Monday, taking the total case number to 35.
After 26 new COVID-19 cases were detected in one day, the China-Russia border city of Heihe, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province on Tuesday upgraded one residential community to a high-risk area.
Since the sudden COVID-19 outbreak in mid-October, China has reported approximately 500 cases.
Compared with the Nanjing airport outbreak, which also spilled over to more than half of the provincial-level regions in China, the latest outbreak is more “complicated,” Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times.
The Nanjing outbreak was triggered by coronavirus within the airport which spilled over, Wang said, but this time, there are multiple sources, many of which remain unclear even after half a month.
Experts are still looking into what caused the outbreak in Ejina Banner, a county in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which they believe was caused by imported cases. The origin of the Heihe outbreak also remains unknown, and it is not related to the recent flare-ups in Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province.
Wang added that the scope of coronavirus spillover is wide and it is easier for coronavirus to propagate with the onset of winter. He also warned of the increasing danger of the mutated Delta variant.
The Delta variant is responsible for the flare-ups in Beijing, Heihe, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
Zero-tolerance cannot be abandoned
In response to such complicated and widespread outbreaks, local governments have adopted strict measures to curb the spread. It is particularly important ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which will pose an additional challenge for the nation’s overall anti-epidemic efforts, as the arrival of the foreign delegations will coincide with the winter season.
Shijiazhuang, a city roughly 260 kilometers from Beijing, entered a state of emergency on Tuesday, ordering people in the medium-risk Hezhuang village into a strict home quarantine.
Heihe closed off 51 residential communities with confirmed COVID-19 cases, with closed-circle management, where life necessities are delivered and psychological consultations are provided.
Those measures again invited foreign media criticism, including from The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, which suggested in their reports that China’s “Zero COVID” policy is taking economically and psychologically tolls on its people.
In a recent interview, China’s top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said the zero-transmission policy is necessary. He said China’s “zero -transmission policy” is a relatively low-cost approach compared with the “treatment after infection” practice in some countries.
China cannot abandon zero-tolerance now, as given the global pandemic situation, changing epidemic prevention policies and lifting the strict controls would lead to a catastrophic outcome, a senior public health official close to the National Health Commission told the Global Times on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
Considering the overall health system situation, lifting anti-epidemic measures would mean a sudden increase in infections, which will deliver a heavy blow to the health system and the country’s economic and social development, the anonymous official said, noting that as there is a regional imbalance in different places, abandoning zero-tolerance would have significant consequences.
Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that China should not let the foreign media’s sniping shake the country’s confidence. “We are at a highland [of fighting the coronavirus] that they cannot attain. Those who mock us are from countries where they have reported more than 10,000 cases daily, yet we report less than 100.”
China has maintained its proactive measures since the Wuhan outbreak, which helped shape a political and social consensus that such measures best serve the public in terms of safety and public health, the anonymous official continued.
More humane approach
Beijing municipal government apologized on Tuesday after some Beijing residents complained they were unable to purchase tickets back to the capital, even though their health codes are green. The government said they are deeply sorry for the inconvenience it brought to those people and suggested they report their situation to authorities, who will solve their problems within two days.
Since the new outbreaks started, Beijing has imposed travel restrictions on certain groups, preventing people from places where there are COVID-19 cases whose health code is not green, from entering Beijing.
A Beijing resident surnamed Mi, who has been stranded in Shanghai for nearly a week, immediately called after he saw the Beijing government’s notice. “I called in the morning, and by the afternoon I bought a ticket back to Beijing for tomorrow,” he told the Global Times.
Apart from the efficiency, Mi said he appreciated the government’s action. “I think the public apology shows that they care and are willing to change,” said Mi, who added that although the sporadic flare-up scuppers people’s plans, it is “comforting” to see local governments are learning and making progress during this process, adopting a more “humane and scientific” approach.
On Monday, a surreal yet heart-warming video clip of fully suited and masked medical workers testing visitors leaving Shanghai’s Disney Resort on Sunday night against the backdrop of the nightly firework display went viral on Chinese social media.
In a few hours, more than 33,000 people inside the park had completed nucleic acid testing, and the following day all the results were processed. All were negative. All 33,863 tourists and staff inside the park were asked to take nucleic acid tests before they could leave.
The resort is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.
Apart from winning kudos because of its speed, Shanghai’s response at the Disney Resort received praise for its precise management, in sharp contrast to some local governments’ “one-size-fits-all” methods. Some local authorities sealed off an entire city after sporadic cases were found.
Wang noted that such strict measures are often seen in places where the source of infection has not been identified. When the target is not clear, the most secure choice is to impose strict prevention measures, he added.
Asked when would be best time to lift restrictions overall, the anonymous health official said the time is not right. Regular anti-epidemic measures help to maintain normal social and economic functioning, but China has not reached the conditions to allow lifting those measures nor opening the borders, he said.
“We have to continue fully evaluating the conditions for changing the epidemic prevention policies, including considering the virus mutations. The situation in other countries that have opened their borders could serve as a reference for China,” he added.
