After protests, Chinese officials say lockdowns should be removed as swiftly as they are imposed

Amid record COVID-19 infections and protests in Shanghai and Beijing, a Chinese official said on Tuesday that lockdowns should be quick and the removal of lockdowns should also be quick. The official was speaking during a press conference on COVID prevention and control measures.

When asked about its strategy to help people dealing with anxiety during lockdown, the official said, “Localities should be trained… high risk regions is one unit that should not be expanded to bigger scope. But due to the transmission, there can be expansion… lockdown should be quick, removal of lockdowns should also be quick… minimize the inconveniences,” the official said. Authorities also batted for providing psychological counselling to people.

On Vaccination

The officials also pushed for vaccination of the elderly, especially those above the age of 80. “We will implement vaccination work around the country, especially on elderly over 80 years old. They added that nursing homes with elderly must take extra precautions and those eligible must get vaccinated as soon as possible. “Senior citizens must wear masks and avoid social gathering…” official said.

China says it will speed up a push to vaccinate people aged 60 and older against COVID after the country posted record daily case numbers in recent days. “Beijing will “establish a special working group… to make special arrangements for the vaccination of the elderly,” an official said.

On public complaints

“We are facing complicated situation, domestic and internationally. Some localities are facing lots of stresses. As a result, there are over-practice of containment measures. There are complaints about unprecised and untargeted containment which jeopardized people’s livelihood…there’s lack of patience and lack of communication with general public…lots of misunderstanding being caused. In order to solve this…local government should show more responsibilities and follow the national unified guidelines,” an official said.

Is China reconsidering its COVID policy?

After the pandemic outbreak, the government is closely following the mutation situation, while we are doing research and assessment accordingly, an official said. “We are closely following the evolving situations internationally… So, for the containment and control measures, we are doing fine tuning and modifications continuously…,” he said.

Widespread protest over Zero-COVID policy

Slogans calling for Xi to step down were chanted during the demonstrations. The protesters also demanded freedom from masks and COVID tests, while calling for greater political freedoms. “Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping”; “End the COVID lockdown” and “We don’t want masks, we want freedom. We don’t want COVID tests, we want freedom” were some of the slogans chanted during protest rallies in China.

Chinese authorities take action

Chinese authorities have also launched inquiries into some of the people who gathered at weekend protests against COVID-19 curbs, three people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters, as police remained out in numbers on the city’s streets.

Amid the chaos and pandemonium, authorities eased anti-virus rules in scattered areas of China on Monday. However, they affirmed China’s severe “zero- COVID” strategy. The city government of Beijing announced it would no longer set up gates to block access to apartment compounds where infections are found.

Meanwhile, the protests have now reached other parts of the world. According to Reuters, some groups held demonstrations in parts of London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney to show solidarity with protesters in China.

The backlash over Zero-COVID policy

Despite opposition over the ultra-strict ‘Zero-COVID policy’ to curb coronavirus cases in China, the government has been firm on its decision to use this strategy to mitigate the virus spread.

The zero-COVID policy has definitely kept China’s official death toll in the thousands, against more than a million in the United States. However, it has come at the cost of confining many millions to long spells at home, drastically affecting livelihood and damage to the world’s second-largest economy.

Also, the cause of these nationwide protests were the restrictions that allegedly hindered rescue and escape operations following an apartment fire in Urumqi that killed 10 people.

Moreover, research and studies have indicated that vaccines used in China are not much effective against the virus. However, officials maintain that vaccines have “proven effective in severe cases”.

China firm on its policies

When asked at a press briefing about the protests, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had said on Monday that the question did not match the “facts”. He said: “What you mentioned does not reflect what actually happened…We believe that… our fight against Covid-19 will be successful”.

According to Reuters, Xi Jinping had earlier claimed personal responsibility for leading the “war” against COVID-19. He had justified zero-COVID with a need to “put people above everything” and counted his “correct” COVID policy among his political achievements when he sought a precedent-breaking third term at the 20th Communist Party Congress in October.

Nearly three years into the pandemic, China said its policies are not geared towards having zero cases at all times but instead, are about “dynamically” taking action when cases surface.

While proterters are demanding Xi Jinping to step down from the his key position, analysts believe it would be hard for them to topple his government – keeping in view his power in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and full control over the military, security and propaganda machinery.

First Published: Nov 29, 2022, 01:05 PM IST