What next for China’s zero-Covid policy after Shanghai lockdown?
- Subtle changes have been introduced to prevent widespread closures but the reliance on PCR testing has huge costs
- Experts say the approach is financially unsustainable and there is also a possibility strict controls could become the new normal for society
To prevent another full-scale lockdown, the financial powerhouse is now banking on regular nucleic acid testing, sophisticated contact tracing – based on surveillance technologies and big data – and prompt, highly localised lockdowns when infections are found.
The Chinese authorities call the revised strategy “zero-Covid at the community level” and this refined approach appears to have helped Beijing avoid a citywide lockdown as well as enabling Shanghai to reopen, even as cases remained in its quarantined areas.
However, experts warn that a reliance on mass testing to curb Covid-19 transmission is unsustainable, both epidemiologically and financially, and may divert resources from better long-term strategies.
One expert also cautioned that the draconian measures used to curb infections could become permanent as a means of social control.