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China, a country that is facing the focus of world attention due to the holding of the Winter Olympics, has maintained a strict method of control and isolation after the cases detected, which has allowed it to exhibit a low number of infections. However, for specialists, this policy could make it difficult for the nation to end the pandemic soon.
This policy, in addition to showing low levels of contagion, has made it possible to keep its economy (the second largest in the world) running, prevent hospitals from collapsing due to the number of cases, reduce mortality rates from the disease and also generate confidence among the more than 3,000 international athletes and journalists who could meet for the Games.
But, this scenario could backfire when, for some experts, Covid-19 is not going to disappear from the world and the disease could become, like the flu, a persistent but manageable threat if enough people gain immunity through infections and vaccines.
The policy used by the Chinese government could mean that most people in the country have never been exposed to the virus. To this could be added the questioning of the vaccines made in the nation, which offer significantly less protection against the Omicron variant, even after three doses, than the booster of the main Western drugs.
China: is it ready to ease restrictions now?
The Asian country is not in the spotlight solely for the development of the Olympic Games. The Chinese Lunar New Year is about to begin its celebrations on February 1, but its period of travel and vacations has already begun, hoping that it will be the busiest in recent years, according to what is indicated by the British media ‘The Guardian’.
For the moment, the success of controlling the pandemic in China has been traced, in part, to an application developed by the authorities that monitors the contagion status of citizens when they enter supermarkets, offices or even the capital.
But the Omicron variant, described as highly contagious by the World Health Organization (WHO) and difficult to detect, is already present in the country and has raised concerns about the real effectiveness of managing the pandemic.
“It is risky for China to reopen right now because Omicron is spreading globally, and even if the variant does not cause major disease, it will spread like wildfire,” said Dr. Vineeta Bal, an immunologist at the Indian Institute of Education. and Scientific Research.
On the other hand, experts point out that in China, whose population could be around 1.4 billion people, a relaxation of restrictions could lead to an increase in infections similar to that experienced by Australia or Singapore despite their high levels of vaccination.
“China’s susceptibility to outbreaks is likely to be higher because most people have not been exposed to the virus due to the strict measures that have been put in place, so they lack hybrid immunity, which is supposed to provide better protection. than vaccination alone,” Bal added.
From a political point of view, the management of the disease carried out by the Government has brought good results to the point of being described as a “great strategic success” and with “significant advantages” over Western democracies.
This allowed the nation to be the only one, within those classified as important economies, that grew during the year 2020 and was able to show low numbers of infections and deaths.
“It’s a big challenge for leaders, especially their rhetoric about saving lives. How do you justify opening up and then having tens of thousands of people die in the process?” said Dali Yang, a professor who studies Chinese politics at the University of Chicago.
But, one fact could reverse any intention to relax restrictions in the country. For next fall, the Communist Party is preparing a meeting in which the current president, Xi Jinping, is expected to be appointed for a third term.
“If the COVID numbers start to skyrocket to high levels, this will reflect negatively on their leadership,” said Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese political leadership at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
China and its plan to keep Covid-19 at bay during the Olympic Games
According to the AP news agency, the Omicron outbreak will really test the government’s strategy to keep the disease under control during the winter Olympics.
Ahead of the opening of the competitions, scheduled to start on February 4, the nation has registered outbreaks in the southern province of Guangdong but also in Beijing, the Olympic venue.
Among the measures announced by the organizers is that tickets will not be sold locally and entry to the competitions will be for a select audience.
“Currently, we are operating smoothly and everything is under control. So far, we have no plans to lock down Beijing and seal off the city,” said Huang Chen, a health officer with the Beijing Games Organizing Committee.
With AP, Reuters and British media
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