Infections rising after Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy is dropped
Lockdowns and mass testing are set aside after a series of protests broke out in late November. The authorities give in to social and economic pressures. Hospitals are overwhelmed putting the healthcare system under extreme pressure. People run in pharmacies to buy medicines and masks.
Rome (AsiaNews) – Chinese authorities have abandoned Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy after massive protests broke out in recent weeks in several large Chinese cities, ending mass testing and repeated lockdowns.
Official media have also changed gear, noting that the Omicron variant of virus is like the flu. However, rising infections and the lack of drugs have become a new challenge for China’s communist leaders.
Until the change of direction, the authorities claimed the effectiveness of quarantines. State-owned newspapers and TV criticised the idea of living with COVID-19, emphasising the virus’s risks.
Strict confinement has had, however, a major impact on the economy and employment, fuelling dissatisfaction as people in lockdown lost money and ran out of food and basic necessities.
As they began to protest, people urged the authorities to drop the zero-COVID policy, but also demanded political rights such as freedom and democracy, the biggest challenge to the regime since the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989.
Young people and students waved sheets of blank paper in protest, turning it the symbol of the movement. In some cities such as Wuhan (Hubei) and Guangzhou (Guangdong), protesters tore down quarantine fences and clashed with riot police.
Although the authorities have lifted several restrictions, the police are still looking for protesters, and some young people are missing. While mass protests stopped in the country, Chinese students continue to protest abroad.
For now, the government is no longer citing the zero-COVID policy, but it is saying that health measures will be constantly "optimised".
Thus, restaurants and shopping malls have been able to reopen while people have gone back to work as normal.
Patients with mild symptoms have been advised to stay home instead of forcing them to quarantine in designated public facilities.
People are rushing to buy drugs for the flu with the price of some medicines skyrocketing. Some media are reporting that people are standing outside pharmacies to buy cough and fever medicines, as well as masks.
The authorities have cancelled testing drivers of heavy vehicles. During lockdown periods, police had set up checkpoints to test them, causing chaos in logistics.
According to government figures, new infections dropped last week, but analysts say the real number is much higher than the official count since mass testing has been cancelled.
Calls to hotlines for ambulances far exceeds their capacity, the Beijing Daily reported. The Beijing Emergency Medical Centre is advising people with mild symptoms not to call and leave room for more severe patients.
The increase in infections places more pressure on the healthcare system. Videos posted online show long queues outside hospitals. Infections among doctors and healthcare workers are also said to be on the rise, compromising the capacity of the health system.
In the face of protests and economic pressures, Chinese authorities have taken a more pragmatic approach to dealing with COVID-19.
Yet, the low vaccination rate among seniors and the lack of intensive care units may pose potential risks.
Over the past three years, massive testing and government quarantine facilities have placed a burden on local government finances.
According to press sources, testing companies are still waiting to be paid by the government.
Recently, more videos have been posted online showing testing staff and quarantine security guards staging protests in order to get arrears.
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07/12/2022 14:51
08/04/2022 13:23
