After the demonstrations, the government is allowing home quarantine and drastically reducing the use of health QR codes
The Chinese protesters have emerged victorious in their command to the government. The mobilizations that erupted at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou and spread across the country after the fire that left at least ten dead in Urumqi have led China to abandon its zero covid strategy to fight the pandemic. According to orders issued by the central government today, even citizens who have tested positive for the coronavirus – as long as they are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms – can self-quarantine at home. Of course, those who prefer – because a significant part of the population still has great fear of the virus – can be isolated in one of the many centralized quarantine centers that the giant has built on its territory.
Another big change concerns the control exercised on citizens through health codes, a QR generated on the mobile that takes on the colors of a traffic light based on the result of the last PCR performed and the places you These codes had to be scanned in all public places, which could only be accessed if they were green, making them a major restriction on freedom of movement. Now, however, its use will be restricted solely to higher-risk places, such as hospitals, nursing homes or schools. Also, no PCR tests will be performed on travelers in the country.
The abrupt easing of the two main friction points of the zero covid comes days after a first step in that direction was taken with the elimination of the obligation to undergo a PCR every two days in many cases and the abolition of tracking the secondary contacts, as well as centralized quarantine for close contacts, who now only have to stay at home for five days. In addition, it goes hand in hand with other measures that will facilitate a return to normalcy, such as the reinstatement of face-to-face classes in schools that have had no cases and the reopening of all commercial and leisure establishments.
Indeed, it is surprising that this rapid reversal is happening during the largest wave of the entire pandemic in China. The second world power records between 30,000 and 40,000 cases daily, with a significant increase among those who are symptomatic. However, Chinese experts have also brought about a relevant change in their discourse, emphasizing that omicron is a not very lethal variant and that the havoc the restrictions are having on the mood of the population and on the economy is greater than it can be caused by the virus. Despite this, some skeptics still point out that this sudden opening could yield the worst predictions gathered in studies predicting up to a million deaths in this new situation and the collapse of the rudimentary health system.
“The cage of the epidemic is breaking and the appearance of Chinese society will change every week. We will return to normal life,” said Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the pro-government newspaper Global Times. “It’s time the Chinese treated covid like the flu,” he says. However, citizens like Jie fear that everything is a smokescreen that leaves a lot of room for the arbitrariness of local authorities and even neighbours. He himself is in Shanghai today awaiting a call from a quarantine center to ask whether he will be admitted due to the appearance of a case on the top floor of his apartment building. And a Spanish architect reported yesterday that his building was closed for the fifth time in just over a month.
But while it takes time to reach all levels, the orders from Beijing are clear. “We will protect the safety and health of citizens as much as possible while minimizing the impact of the measures on social and economic development,” the Council of State’s Committee for Prevention and Disease Control ruled this morning. Not surprisingly, China is growing at its slowest pace since it opened up to the world four decades ago – this year’s GDP will grow less than Spain’s – and variables such as youth unemployment, which is at an all-time high of nearly 20%, are worrisome.
It is the perfect breeding ground for the discontent that has fueled the demonstrations of recent days, and despite its enormous power, the Communist Party is aware that this situation could break the tacit social contract that legitimizes its rise to power: Harmony in ‘s the world’s most populous country depends on the government’s ability to continuously improve the well-being of its citizens. If that principle is violated, China could become a time bomb.
Source: La Verdad
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