China signals it could soften its zero-Covid policy, but there are more



Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

China has given its most significant signal yet that it may adjust its stringent zero-Covid policy that has transformed daily life, roiled the economy – and sparked a wave of protests.

The top official in charge of China’s Covid response told health officials Wednesday that the country faced a “new stage and mission” in pandemic control.

“With the decreasing toxicity of the Omicron variant, the increasing vaccination rate and the accumulating experience of outbreak control and prevention, China’s pandemic containment faces a new stage and mission,” Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The remarks follow a surge in public frustration with zero-Covid and its high human cost, which erupted into unprecedented demonstrations in at least 19 cities since last Friday.

Sun – who has been the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s enforcement of the policy – made no mention of “zero-Covid,” as reported by Xinhua. Her comments came a day after a separate body of top health officials pledged to rectify some approaches to Covid control and said local governments should “respond to and resolve the reasonable demands of the masses” in a timely manner.

On Thursday, Sun reiterated the new tone, telling a health symposium in Beijing that China’s health care and disease control systems now had “effective diagnosis and treatment techniques” against the epidemic. Overall, China had “created conditions for the country to further optimize its prevention and control measures,” she said, according to state media.

The high-level statements – alongside minor adjustments of rules and some easing of lockdown measures in major cities in recent days – suggest China is bending under pressure on the policy, which has become increasingly disruptive as it struggles to counter highly transmissible variants and record case numbers.

But the shifting tone has not come with any road map to an end goal or mention of transitioning away from zero-Covid, and it remains uncertain how it will impact realities on the ground or ease mounting public frustration.

As of Friday, thousands of buildings and residential communities across China remain under lockdown restrictions due to their classification as “high risk.”

Local officials may be reticent to let cases rise for fear of retribution from a central government that has long prided itself on its zero-Covid stance. Meanwhile, experts say, the country continues to lag in key areas of preparedness for a widespread outbreak.

Guangzhou protests

Protesters clash with police in China during new wave of demonstrations

Chinese health officials and experts have long argued that the costs of the zero-Covid policy are scientifically justified, citing uncertainties in how the virus will evolve, unknowns about its long-term effects, and gaps in medical…



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