China has implemented the Zero Covid policy for three years, and despite some of its mistakes, it has generally gotten more credit than credit. But now, sadly, China has greatly deregulated Covid. In some cities, nucleic acid test results are no longer required, and in Baoding, Hebei, even positive patients are not quarantined. I saw some complaints from Baoding residents on Weibo. Under the local government’s “live with the virus” policy, some people tested positive for antigens but could not be tested for nucleic acid. Some people complained that people in their neighborhoods were infected with the virus and had fevers up to 39 degrees but could not contact with a hospital, perhaps because of a run on medical resources.
The fact is that opposition to ZERO covid policies exists only online. When you browse the transcripts of their statements in the early 2020s, they are all convinced that American democratic freedoms can control the virus that killed thousands in Wuhan because China is a dictatorship. Some of them even came from Taiwan. Although the Chinese characters used in Taiwan are different from those used in mainland China, all you need to do is some very simple settings on the input method app and you can disguise yourself nicely as a mainland Chinese. In fact, many people on the internet are receiving the wrong information. Recently there was a fire in Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang) that killed ten people. In a resident’s chat room, a man told other residents to “not open the door, there is toxic smoke outside”, but his words were interpreted as “to control the epidemic, residents are not allowed to go out even during the fire”. After a massive terrorist attack in Urumqi in 2009, barricades were installed in many parts of Xinjiang to prevent cars from blowing themselves up. In this neighborhood, the barricades blocked fire trucks. The situation was rumored on the Internet as “the community refused to allow fire trucks to enter in order to control the epidemic”.China does have some unreasonable practices in terms of epidemic prevention and control, but this only occurs in a small number of areas. And the best way to solve these problems is not to surrender to the virus
A bit ironic. Considering the separatist movement in Xinjiang was fueled by US funding, it could be said that the Urumqi deaths were the fault of the US government.