China faithful to zero Covid, pot concerts in Shanghai

China said on Friday it would press ahead with its zero Covid, “major trump” strategy against the coronavirus, despite growing frustration in Shanghai where confined residents are now protesting by banging their pans on windows.

Largely spared for two years, the Asian giant is facing its worst epidemic outbreak since the spring of 2020. The Ministry of Health has again announced more than 15,500 new positive cases in the past 24 hours.

In the metropolis of Shanghai (east), by far the most affected and whose 25 million inhabitants have been confined since the beginning of April, the authorities reported Friday 52 additional deaths – all unvaccinated.

The zero Covid strategy consists of various measures: confinement of neighborhoods or cities as soon as cases appear, quarantine of people tested positive, even asymptomatic, or even mass screening.

“This is a major asset for preventing and controlling the epidemic” in China, where 1.4 billion people live, Li Bin, a deputy health minister, pleaded to the press on Friday.

“Our country is very populated, with regional imbalances in terms of development and a lack of medical resources. If we relax (measures) and let the virus spread, many people will be infected.”

The zero Covid strategy has made it possible to limit the number of deaths from the disease (officially less than 5,000).

But the long confinements weigh on the economy and are badly experienced by the population.

– Tintamarre –

In Shanghai, confined residents complain of not having enough fresh vegetables or meat.

Videos posted on social media on Thursday evening, quickly censored, show residents banging on their pots and pans at their windows, while shouting for “supplies”.

A Shanghainese woman told AFP, on condition of anonymity for fear of possible reprisals, that she had seen an announcement beforehand on the internet. She joined the concert after hearing the commotion outside.

“I’ve seen lots of videos like that, sent in by people who live in different districts,” she says.

Containment represents a titanic logistical challenge since it is necessary to supply 25 million inhabitants despite the lack of delivery people.

Internet censors have a hard time dealing with viral videos that are quickly making the rounds on social networks. They delete most of the content reporting administrative malfunctions or complaints from residents.

Censorship that also fuels the discontent of Shanghainese.

While many countries have lifted their health restrictions after their vaccination campaigns, Beijing considers this strategy impossible in the short term and too risky for its health system.

– “Dead end” –

Another problem raised by Liang Wannian, head of the team of experts against Covid commissioned by the Ministry of Health: the insufficient vaccination rate of the elderly in China.

This health policy should in any case heavily penalize the tourist sector during the May 1 holidays, which begin on Saturday and last five days.

The Chinese generally take the opportunity to go on vacation, but the Ministry of Transport already predicts a 62% drop in travel compared to 2021.

For the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the European Union (EU) in China, Joerg Wuttke, the priority of the authorities is in fact elsewhere.

“The mayors, the regional political leaders, all have only one compass at the moment: the zero Covid” which is a “dead end”, he estimated in an interview Thursday with the media The Market, from the daily Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung. “They don’t care about the short-term economy.”

According to Mr. Wuttke, this health policy will last until the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the end of 2022, during which President Xi Jinping should obtain a third term as head of the regime.

“He cannot change his speech (vis-à-vis the Covid) so close to the finish line”, estimates Mr. Wuttke.

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