- China imposed some of the most stringent Covid restrictions in the world.
- While Covid cases in China are decreasing, flu rates have increased across the country,
- Many people on China’s social media sites expressed concern and anger.
A Chinese city stirred outrage on social media after indicating it would explore using lockdowns in the case of an influenza pandemic.
The city of Xi’an, a tourism hub in Shaanxi province known for its famed terracotta warriors, published an emergency response plan this week that would allow it to close schools, companies, and “other crowded locations” in the event of a catastrophic flu pandemic.
Many people on China’s social media sites expressed concern and anger, saying the proposal sounded uncomfortably similar to some of the draconian zero-Covid regulations China had maintained throughout the pandemic and had only recently abandoned.
“Vaccinate the public rather than using the such time to create a sense of panic,” one user wrote on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
“How will people not panic given that Xi’an’s proposal to suspend work and business activities was issued without clear instruction on the national level to classify the disease?” asked another.
While Covid cases in China are decreasing, flu rates have increased across the country, and some pharmacies are struggling to meet the demand for flu medications.
Emergency Response Plan
Xi’an’s emergency response plan, on the other hand, will not always be deployed. It shows how the city of over 13 million people might respond to a potential pandemic depending on four severity levels.
At the first and highest level, it says, “the city can lock down infected areas, carry out traffic quarantines and suspend production and business activities. Shopping malls, theaters, libraries, museums, tourist attractions, and other crowded places will also be closed.”
“At this emergency level, schools and nurseries at all levels would be shut down and be made responsible for tracking students’ and infants’ health conditions.”
The pushback comes as the Chinese central government has underlined the importance of reopening the country following the removal of all Covid restrictions in January.
Throughout the outbreak, China imposed some of the most stringent Covid restrictions in the world, including lockdowns that lasted months in some cities. It was also one of the last countries in the world to abandon policies such as mass testing and severe border quarantine periods, despite mounting evidence of economic harm.
Brutal lockdown
Between December 2021 and January 2022, Xi’an was subjected to a brutal lockdown, with 13 million citizens confined to their homes for weeks on end – and many running low on food and other necessary supplies. Access to medical care was also hampered. In a situation that startled and outraged the nation, a severely pregnant lady was turned away from a hospital on New Year’s Day because she didn’t have a valid Covid-19 test, and she miscarried two hours later after she was finally admitted.
China had been shaken by a series of protests against its zero-Covid policy just before it lifted its epidemic-era limits.
People’s memories of being confined to their houses and panic buying that resulted in food shortages in some areas remain fresh, and the prospect of a return to Covid-style laws appears to have struck a nerve.
Several voices, though, pleaded for calm.
Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, said he understood the reasoning behind the move.
“I think it’s quite rational to make contingency plans. I wouldn’t expect a lockdown to be needed for flu, but presumably, there are different response levels,” he said.
One user on Weibo expressed a similar sentiment: “It is merely the revelation of a proposal, not putting it in place. It is quite normal to take precautions given this wave of flu is coming at us very strong.”
[embedpost slug=”/covid-chinese-tourists-hit-thai-beaches-for-first-time-in-3-years/”]
