Africa-Press – Botswana. The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defended the ‘zero Covid’ strategy, when changes in policy were expected, after an important meeting between the country’s leadership, which starts on October 16.
The ‘zero cases’ policy of Covid-19 is “sustainable” and “fundamental” to stabilize the economy and protect lives, wrote the People’s Daily, in a commentary.
“The economy can only stabilize, people’s lives can be peaceful and economic and social development can only be healthy when the epidemic is stopped,” the official noted.
“We must be soberly aware that China is a large country, with more than 1.4 billion people, regional disparities in the level of development and insufficient medical resources”, he pointed out. The People’s Daily considered that the cost of co-existing with the disease would be higher than that of maintaining the current strategy.
Also on Monday, the paper declared the policy “scientific and effective.” The official Xinhua news agency warned that China cannot be complacent.
The comments signal that Beijing will maintain its current strategy, even after the 20th CPC Congress, which starts on the 16th and should serve to strengthen the status of the organization’s current secretary general, Xi Jinping.
The ‘zero cases’ Covid-19 strategy is assumed as a political triumph by Xi. The country, where the new coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, has recorded around 5,000 deaths from the disease, compared with more than three million deaths in Europe and the United States.
The Chinese approach includes isolating all positive cases and direct contacts at designated facilities, locking down entire districts and cities, and carrying out mass testing.
In the main cities of the country, it is mandatory to carry out a PCR test for the detection of the new coronavirus, every 48 hours, to access public spaces.
The constant lockdowns and isolation of entire cities have a strong impact on the service, manufacturing and logistics sectors. The World Bank has already lowered its forecast for growth of China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from “between 4% and 5%” to 2.8% this year.
Zero tolerance for Covid-19 also implies the virtually total closure of China’s borders. The country reduced the number of international air connections by 98%, compared to the pre-pandemic period. Anyone arriving in China from abroad must undergo ten days of quarantine in a hotel designated by the Government.
Despite these efforts, China continues to experience outbreaks. On Monday, 1,989 cases were detected, the highest number since August 19.
The Japanese financial services group Nomura estimates that about 197 million people in 36 cities in China, which represent about 20% of the country’s GDP, are under lockdown measures.
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