China’s coronavirus epidemic has rapidly heated up after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with more than 8,000 new local infections in a single day. The number of new infections in a single day in the capital Beijing rose to a new high in more than five months; in Guangdong, where the epidemic was the most severe, another administrative region was closed.
The scholars interviewed judged that the outbreak of the epidemic in autumn and winter has brought new pressure on China’s “dynamic clearing” policy, and will also slow down the official pace of loosening epidemic control.
According to data from the National Health Commission, China reported 8,176 new local infections on Tuesday (November 8), a single-day high since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The number of infections in Beijing has risen rapidly over the past few days, with 80 new local infections on Tuesday, the highest in a single day since late May this year.
From 0:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Beijing added 57 new local infections, involving 10 administrative regions, four of whom were social screeners, showing that strict control still cannot prevent the virus from spreading in the community.
Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Government, emphasized at a press conference on Wednesday that the epidemic prevention and control situation in the capital is severe and complicated.
Some outpatient clinics, shopping malls, and scenic spots in many hospitals in Beijing were temporarily closed due to the epidemic. According to the “Interface News” report, the flight manager app showed that as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Beijing Capital Airport had cancelled 718 flights that day, with a cancellation rate of 75%; Daxing Airport had cancelled 767 flights, with a cancellation rate of 86%.
Guangzhou, the city most severely affected by the outbreak, reported more than 2,600 new local infections on Tuesday. Liwan District of Guangzhou City implemented social-wide control from Wednesday morning, requiring strict control of the movement of people, and people should not go out unless necessary in principle.
This is the second district in Guangzhou that implements global social control after Haizhu District. Previously, most of the new cases in Guangzhou were concentrated in Haizhu District. Haizhu District implemented a lockdown and control from November 5, and announced on the 7th that it would be extended for four days to 24:00 on the 11th.
As of 10 am on Wednesday, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport had also cancelled 1,163 flights that day, with a cancellation rate of 89%.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held last month was once regarded as a turning point in the change of China’s epidemic prevention policy, but more than two weeks after the 20th National Congress ended, the official did not release a signal of loosening control.
A new round of epidemics broke out in the winter
Tang Renwu, dean of the Institute of Government Management of Beijing Normal University, said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao: “In the winter, there will be more outbreaks of a new round of epidemics, and there will be more uncertainties… I hoped to see it after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party. The relaxation of epidemic prevention will be even more distant now.”
The continuous high-pressure epidemic prevention has caused serious disruption to China’s social economy. Yao Wei, chief economist for Asia-Pacific and China at Societe Generale, said on Bloomberg TV about China’s loosening of the zero-clearing policy that so far there have been more rumors than actual changes.
“The epidemic is starting to overwhelm and exhaust local governments in more and more places, and now the time has come when the Chinese government has to look forward whether it wants to or not,” she said.
However, Tang Renwu believes that at present, Chinese society is not ready to relax control and coexist with the virus, unless there is a cure for the coronavirus. “Many people still have fears about the coronavirus, especially in rural areas of China, where people’s fears are still very strong,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the matter as saying on the 7th that although the impact of the dynamic reset policy is increasing, Chinese officials are still proceeding cautiously, which means that there is still a long way for society to return to the normal level before the epidemic. A full recovery may have to wait until the end of next year.
Yao Wei predicts that China may loosen the epidemic prevention in two forms. One is from the bottom up. The top level will not make changes in the expression. However, when the local government relaxes the epidemic prevention after the epidemic is out of control, it is essentially forced to withdraw and clear. The second is that the central government accelerates necessary preparation measures, including starting to talk about the vaccination of vulnerable groups, the carrying capacity of intensive care units, and making adjustments in propaganda to tell the Chinese people not to panic.
Tang Renwu believes that local officials will not deviate from the reset policy for the time being in order to keep the “black hat”. “Even if the economy and local finances are unsustainable, absolute reset is their only goal now.”