This month, China has faced its worst outbreak of covid-19 since the virus was first detected in Wuhan. From March 1 to 24, the country had reported 56,000 infections — more than the total cases in Wuhan two years ago.
variant has cemented acceptance that the virus is here to stay and should be mitigated but tolerated. In China, though, rising case numbers appear to be reinforcing policies to smother the virus rather than accelerating plans to gradually ease restrictions.
As China’s leading financial hub, Shanghai had been at the forefront of trying out more flexible measures. Last year, when cases were discovered at one of the city’s main international airports, most residents were unaffected. During the current outbreak, too, it had resisted the citywide measures adopted in places like Jilin or Shenzhen, opting instead for rolling, block-by-block home quarantines for two-day periods.But the approach failed to halt transmission of the virus.
Beijing’s staunch adherence to zero covid often appears puzzling to much of the developed world, where, despite much higher case numbers than China’s, blanket lockdowns are no longer considered necessary because of high vaccination rates.
Even as officials work on a plan to live with the virus, they continue to argue that the costs are worth it for the number of lives saved. An officially endorsed study released late last year estimated that China would soon faceif it ended international and internal restrictions in an approach similar to that of the United States.
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