Despite the rise in COVID-19, China Is Not Likely To Implement A Lockdown, A Report

Beijing: In the midst of a spike in infections and mounting public discontent with lockdowns, China abruptly abandoned its "Zero Covid" measures in December.
Covid cases are once again on the rise, but this time the country seems determined to carry on with daily life as the government concentrates on reviving economic growth, according to the New York Times.

Although other nations have long adopted this approach, China is making a change. In an effort to eradicate what were occasionally only small clusters of cases, its national leadership was nonetheless prepared to lock down entire neighbourhoods, districts, and even entire cities until late last year.

Daily newspaper The New York Times is published in New York City and has readers all around the world.

Since April, more cases of Covid have been reported in China, particularly as a result of more recent subvariants that are spreading globally.

This week, Zhong Nanshan, a well-known physician who was among the first to publicly acknowledge that the coronavirus may spread among people easily in early 2020, said that by the end of June, up to 65 million people a week could become infected across China.

That would be an increase from the 40 million illnesses each week he predicted in late May. According to the New York Times, China no longer regularly provides official estimates of infection rates nationally.

Comparatively, new infections peaked in China at 37 million per day after "Zero Covid" measures were implemented in December.

A comeback in cases was always anticipated, and many in China appear prepared to live with a background hum of Covid infections, and occasionally Covid deaths, according to the New York Times, even if Zhong recognised that the pace of mounting illnesses is fraught with uncertainty.

In the post-Covid era, people have become accustomed to infections and consider them to be the norm, according to Lin Zixian, a 36-year-old technology employee from Beijing.

When he meets people inside, China's president, Xi Jinping, continues to frequently don a medical mask.

Yet, according to the New York Times, Lin claimed that he and other family members had stopped concealing in most public places, as had many other Chinese citizens.

Authorities in China appear to be attempting to do rid of the strict limitations that by the end of last year had worn out the public's patience while preparing the populace for an increase in illnesses.

The administration has turned its attention to boosting development and job creation since dropping its stringent restrictions on domestic travel. According to the New York Times, the 20% unemployment rate among urban youngsters may seem more politically urgent than the soaring Covid figures.

The usage of masks on Beijing's buses and subways has been advised by health officials, but it is not required and many passengers, particularly the younger ones, choose not to.

Hospitals may still be overwhelmed by the recent increase in cases, but many people seem more willing to suffer with the disease at home rather than visit fever clinics.

Infection can result in a week or more of fever and other symptoms for many younger people. Many have been documenting their symptoms on social media over the past few weeks, frequently with a tone of morbid resignation.

Older folks provide more of an issue because many of them have not had Covid and may not have had all of their vaccinations.

Zhang Wenhong, the director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai and a key figure in China's response to Covid, stated in a recent interview with Chinese media outlets that up to three-quarters of Chinese people infected in the recent rise were not infected in the first wave.

Experts advise China to improve vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly, enhance its domestic vaccine to better defend against new varieties, permit the introduction of vaccines created elsewhere, and make antiviral medications more affordable and accessible to Covid patients.

Chris Buckley, a reporter for the New York Times, wrote this news item. He grew up in Sydney, Australia, and is now The Times' lead reporter in China, where he has spent the majority of the last 30 years.