Over 32,000 new COVID-19 infections were registered in China on Thursday, fueling expanded lockdowns of thousands of neighborhoods in cities across the country.
Beijing, the Chinese capital, with a population of about 22 million, has reported more than 10,000 COVID cases this month. While this only amounts to 4.5% of inhabitants, the daily infection rates are the highest since COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019.
President of the EU chamber of commerce in China, Joerg Wuttke, told the media on Friday that there was constant news of “someone going into lockdown” and “a constant feeling that you’re going to be next.”
The government has also launched a more aggressive vaccine drive, expanded hospital capacity, and restricted the movement of groups thought to be more vulnerable, particularly the elderly, according to The Washington Post.
The surge in cases comes in the wake of the Chinese government relaxing its zero-COVID policies, prompting renewed shutdowns.
Shanghai — China’s largest city — was in lockdown for nearly two months this spring and then reopened in June, only to face renewed restrictions in October.
“This is the typical policy dilemma that the Chinese leaders face,” said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
“When you relax and open up, it will lead to chaos,” he claimed, “and when you tighten policy, it will be too rigid to allow any flexibility.”
Nevertheless, state media reported on November 14 that China had begun to scale back its epidemic control measures. Quarantine periods for international arrivals were shortened, and close contacts of confirmed cases were given new protocols.
The requirement lessened from seven days of centralized quarantine with three days of health observation at homes to five days of quarantine and three days of observation.
The state also said at that time it would no longer track beyond the close contacts of confirmed infections. It had been tracking those who were connected to those close contacts. Even the remotely connected faced additional restrictions.
However, with COVID cases rising, lockdowns have again been announced in parts of Chinese cities such as Beijing. Residents were told to remain home, and local businesses and public venues closed.
Although city leaders are referring to the current situation as a “critical” time for controlling the spread of the virus, the ambiguity surrounding the implementation of zero-COVID policies is breeding frustration among its inhabitants.
Jennifer Birdsong, a Chengdu-based member of the EU chamber’s Southwest China chapter board, said while initial reactions to zero-COVID policies were generally positive, there has since been a change of heart.
“There is a great deal of variation in what may be interpreted as ‘necessary lockdown,'” she said.
Indeed, the growing discontent among Chinese citizens is becoming more vocal; some people have screamed from the windows of their homes where they are trapped or even clashed with health officials and police authorities. Chongqing residents have sung, “We want freedom!” in the midst of their strict lockdown.
Street uprisings in China have even erupted in protest against the tightened COVID control measures. Chinese students staged protests at several universities, and citizens performed demonstrations in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Lanzhou.
Additionally, as The Dallas Express previously reported, iPhone factory workers in Zhengzhou attempted to flee when authorities tried to quarantine them after an outbreak. Skirmishes between workers and police have since circulated on social media.
As full lockdown implementation looms, the restrictions vex the already-troubled domestic supply chain, which will have larger global effects since China has the world’s second-largest economy.
Meanwhile, Wang, a Beijing resident and manager at a foreign firm, voiced concern for his fellow citizens’ livelihoods, asking, “How many people have the savings to support them if things continually stay halted?”
He continued, “And even if you have money to stay at home every day, that’s not true living.”