Beijing causes panic after accidently announcing that they will pursue a zero-Covid strategy for the next five years.

 

A security guard watches children return to school in Beijing. The Guardian/Getty.

Beijing has caused a panic after accidently announcing that they will pursue a zero-Covid strategy for the next five years. The Guardian. The notice was posted by Cai Qi, the Beijing secretary of the Communist Party. The news went viral on Weibo, China's social network, before the government removed the reference and associated hashtags. Qi said the restrictions will include isolation of infected people, restrictions on travel and regular testing. China is unique in that it is one of the few countries pursuing a zero Covid strategy. Most other countries have returned to normal and are learning to live with the virus. 

My Comment:

This story broke on Monday but I did not see it until now. I thought it was important enough to cover since China's actions on the Coronavirus pandemic affect the world, not just China. This incident is not a good thing for anyone as far as I am concerned. 

Why? Because it will cause economic problems for the entire world, not just China. The world, very foolishly, depends on China to product products for them to buy. We have seen what that has led to when China restricts their population with these stupid lockdowns. It's why we are seeing shortages and huge backups at ports. If China has another major breakout of the virus and stick with this plan it could put more stress on the world's economy, which is already under extreme pressure due to the energy crisis. 

It also makes zero sense for China to pursue a zero-Covid strategy. The virus is nowhere near as dangerous as it was when it first came out. Most people now have a mild infection at worst, with many people not having symptoms at all. People are still getting sick, and a few even die, but it's not anywhere near like it was during the start of the pandemic. 

It's amazing to me that anyone still cares about the virus. Things have been normal here in Wisconsin for around a year now. Hardly anyone wears masks and other than a few paranoid people, nobody cares about the chance of getting the virus. Most people have gotten the virus now, survived and realized that it isn't much of a threat. 

I do wonder if this was a mistake though. China does often mention five year plans in their announcements and it might not have too much to do with the actual conditions on the ground. That might be giving them too much credit though as they do seem serious about going all in on fighting Covid. 

It does make me wonder how much more the Chinese people are going to put up with it. Though I don't think there is any apatite for revolution in China, the people there have to see how things are back to normal just about everywhere else, at least in terms of restrictions. They have to be wondering what their leadership is thinking. I don't think the Communists are anywhere near losing the "mandate of heaven", but this could contribute to discontent if another disaster happens...