Following unprecedented protests against a programme that includes frequent testing, restricted travel, mass lockdowns, and enormous damage to the world’s No. 2 economy, China has seen the dramatic deconstruction of its “zero-COVID” regime over the last month.
Investors hope that the reopening would eventually reenergize a $17 trillion economy that is seeing its slowest growth in nearly a half-century. However, the sudden changes have exposed many of China’s 1.4 billion people to the virus for the first time, producing a surge of infections that has overwhelmed certain hospitals, depleted pharmacy shelves of medication, and caused huge lineups to form at crematoriums.
China’s Ministry of Transport announced on Friday that it expects more than 2 billion passengers to travel in the next 40 days, a rise of 99.5% year on year and 70.3% of total trip numbers in 2019.
Online opinions on that news were divided, with some praising the freedom to finally return to one’s birthplace and spend the Lunar New Year with family. However, a large number of people said they would not travel this year due to concerns about spreading illness to older family members. There are widespread worries that the massive influx of city employees returning to their hometowns would lead to an increase in infections in smaller towns and rural places that are less prepared to handle them with ICU beds and ventilators.
Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, acknowledged that risk in a Friday note but went on to say that “in the large cities that make up much of China’s economy, it seems the worst has passed”.
The current wave of infections may have already crested in most locations, according to various online surveys, according to Ernan Cui, analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing. He noted that there was “not much difference between urban and rural areas.”
China’s border with Hong Kong will reopen on Sunday, and the country will no longer require foreign visitors to enter quarantine. As a result, many Chinese were able to travel abroad for the first time since borders were closed nearly three years ago without worrying about being quarantined upon their return.
As a result of the World Health Organization’s finding that China’s official viral data understated the true scope of its outbreak, more than a dozen nations are now requiring COVID tests of Chinese travellers.
Chinese government and state media have defended the management of the outbreak, downplaying the magnitude of the upsurge, and criticising restrictions on citizens’ ability to travel outside.
TREATMENT TO THE FORE
China invested heavily in a massive PCR testing programme to detect and trace COVID-19 infections for the most of the epidemic, but now the emphasis is shifting to vaccinations and treatments.
For instance, the city government in Shanghai stated on Friday that residents’ access to free PCR tests will expire on January 8.
Four government ministries released a circular on Saturday signalling a reallocation of financial resources to therapy, detailing a strategy for the public sector to cover 60% of treatment costs through March 31.
Reuters was informed by sources that China is in negotiations with Pfizer Inc. to obtain a licence that will permit domestic pharmaceutical companies to produce and market a generic version of the COVID-19 antiviral medicine Paxlovid in China.
A lot of Chinese people have tried to order the medicine from abroad and have it delivered to China.
The COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine, also known as CS-2034, is being produced in experimental quantities, according to a recent announcement from China’s CanSino Biologics Inc. China has depended on nine domestically created and authorised COVID vaccines, including inactivated vaccines, but none of them have been modified to specifically target the extremely contagious Omicron variety and its present offspring.
According to government data issued last month, the country’s overall vaccination rate is above 90%, but the rate for individuals who have received booster injections falls to 57.9% and to 42.3% for those who are 80 years of age or older.
The official viral mortality count for China, which is one of the lowest in the world at 5,267, increased by three on Friday in the mainland. International health experts expect that this year will see more than a million fatalities since they feel Beijing’s restrictive definition of COVID deaths does not represent a true total.