COVID-19: China's expensive lockdown strategy jeopardized by Delta wave

A possible increase in COVID-19 infections caused by the Delta variant is creating fresh challenges for China's expensive city-isolation policy.

The country's ruling Communist Party, under President Xi Jinping, is presently combating the most serious outbreak since last years peak in Wuhan.   

The Chinese government is implementing some harsh steps to combat the situation. Several cities have been cut off, flights halted, and mass testings are being conducted in several parts of the country. 

While China's “zero-tolerance” strategy of quarantining every case has helped the country prevent new infections, it has put immense strain on China's economy. The lockdown has impacted millions of lives, affecting the country's work culture, prompting concerns that China must learn to control the virus without continually shutting down the economy. 

Zhang Wenhong, a doctor based in Shanghai, suggested in a social media post that Beijing should consider changing its policy. Wehnhong rose to prominence during the Wuhan outbreak. “The world needs to learn how to coexist with this virus,” he wrote in his post. 

Winter Olympics: A major test for Beijing  

According to several experts, the gathering of hundreds of athletes, media personnel, and visitors from around the world for the Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2022, will put to test China's regulation and control policy. 

Added to this, in late 2022, the country's Communist Party will undergo a politically delicate leadership change. Experts believe that will be a chance for the Communist Party leaders to improve the country's economic circumstances. 

According to Xi Chen, a health economist at the Yale School of Public Health, China needs to shift to creating barriers to infection within communities by stepping up vaccinations and quickly treating infected people while allowing business and travel to continue smoothly. Xi Chen said that the country requires access to the complete range of vaccines, including those developed by Germany's BioNTech. 

New infections jolt financial markets

Last year, China had shut down much of its economy and cut off access to nearly all cities, governing a combined population of 60 million people. Similar measures were undertaken by various other countries, but, at a smaller scale. As a result, China's economy saw its worst performance in five decades. However, Beijing was able to allow businesses and domestic travel to resume by March 2020. 

The emergence of new infections, including those reported from vaccinated people, have jolted global financial markets. The thought that Beijing's response would disrupt industrial and supply networks is causing major concerns across the globe. Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong's key stock indices all fell on Tuesday before rising back on Thursday. 

According to health officials, this year's biggest outbreak has been provisionally linked to airport workers who cleaned a Russian aircraft on July 10 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai. 

Some passengers travelled from Nanjing to Zhangjiajie, a popular tourist destination, spreading the infection there. Beijing and other cities in over ten provinces reported infections as a result. 

Government proposes tighter restrictions

The administration of Zhangjiajie said on Tuesday that no one would be permitted to leave the city, bring in restrictions similar to the one imposed in Wuhan, and other parts, last year. 

Flights to Nanjing and Yangzhou, where 94 cases have been reported, have also been temporarily paused. Train services from the two places, and 21 other cities,  to capital Beijing have been cancelled. Highway checkpoints to test drivers have been set up in Jiangsu province. Chinese authorities have urged residents of Beijing and Guangzhou to restrict movement as much as they can. 

According to Zhou Xiaoxiao, a university student in Yangzhou, students at two tutoring facilities were evacuated after a classmate tested positive. She said that some areas of the city have been placed under lockdown. 

China has reported 4,636 deaths out of about 93,000 confirmed cases. 

(With inputs from AP, Image Credit: Pixabay)