Xinjiang infections ‘highlight difficulty of China maintaining zero-Covid policies’

Tan KW

Publish date: Sat, 08 Oct 2022, 11:23 AM

A public acknowledgement of failure by the Xinjiang authorities highlights the unsustainability of China’s zero-Covid policies and the problem poorer areas face in implementing strict controls, analysts have said.

The authorities suspended train rail services out of the region on Tuesday to stop the spread of Covid-19, and many parts of Xinjiang, including the capital city Urumqi, have been placed under lockdown.

On Tuesday, Liu Sushe, the vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, admitted that the government has failed to contain the outbreak that started two months ago.

Alfred Wu, an associate professor and assistant dean at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said local governments were strained to the extreme.

“But [the Chinese government] takes this approach and every locality needs to strengthen its capacity ... The first-tier cities are doing well but second and third-tier cities are problematic and lack medical resources,” he said. “It’s not just Xinjiang. Many places are about the same.”

Xinjiang, which has already undergone several rounds of lockdowns since 2020, appeared to have been overwhelmed by the latest wave of infections.

While the government insists there have only been dozens of asymptomatic cases, many internet users have said the scale of the outbreak in some parts of the region was far more serious that official figures suggested.

Residents in areas such as Ili and Korla complained that community-level cadres had either become sick or could not manage the lockdowns and ensure residents receive food supplies.

Despite the authorities’ tight grip on social media and the risks of severe punishment, many continued to plead for help on social media last month.

While Han and ethnic minorities were both locked down and complaining about food shortages, Ugyurs and Kazakhs are particularly vulnerable because many of them have low incomes and may not have the language skills to ask the authorities for help.

WeChat groups operated by neighbourhood committees have been used to provide food for residents but are also used for surveillance and to relay government orders.

Xinjiang is home to 22 million people and has been in partial lockdown since August. Official reports said that 91 asymptomatic infections had been recorded on Wednesday, with 355 asymptomatic cases in total during the latest outbreak.

Liu said the suspension of train services was necessary to prevent the spread of the disease to other parts of the country.

He also admitted that compulsory PCR tests had helped spread the disease because some test workers have not followed the correct procedures.

“PCR tests are the biggest shortcoming in [our] handling of the pandemic. Our testing capacity was inadequate and our treatment of confirmed cases was outpaced by the spread of Covid-19”, he added.

He also blamed a rebound of cases in September on the slackness of officials after the outbreak appeared to have been brought under control in August.

Jin Dongyan, a virologist with the University of Hong Kong, said that the zero-Covid strategy was not the solution to control the pandemic.

“Taking this approach you can successfully slow down the spread of the coronavirus, but in reality, it doesn’t solve the problem,” he said.

Jin said China’s current strategy was not sustainable, and people should be prepared for a large outbreak in the country.

“If the Chinese leadership always thinks about zero-Covid and does not prepare [for a major outbreak], then they’ll be at a loss when it comes.”

China is the world’s only major economy that still maintains strict zero-Covid restrictions. It reported 273 newly confirmed cases and 861 asymptomatic infections on Wednesday.

Many cities have stepped up their efforts to prevent the disease spreading in the run-up to a major political set piece later this month.

At least 33 cities, including eight major provincial and municipal centres, were placed under partial lockdown in September, disrupting the lives of about 65 million people, according to the media outlet Caixin.

Dozens of local officials have been punished for failing to control outbreaks, prompting others to take excessive measures such as blanket lockdowns after a small number of cases.

- SCMP

Discussions

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Tobby

China lockdowns is the biggest joke of the century! It has already damage China economy badly!
The rest of the world already ditching their face mask! Today, those opt for face mask is getting rare! I went out this morning and i was the only one still with face mask on! Well, i finally took it off after i bought my favorite 4D numbers! Then again, i think i will continue to wear face mask in 4D outlets as most of the punters are infected with far more serious virus! Today, i say few weirdo who bought their fengshui master, some with their bomoh, and the dude on the back was wearing so many cross and endless chatter praising Jesus! I am sure my face mask will protect me from this type of weirdo virus!

2022-10-08 14:14

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