No end to zero-Covid in China, as top leadership doubles down on strict anti-pandemic policy

We should firmly implement the general policy of dynamic zero-Covid, Politburo Standing Committee chaired by President Xi Jinping says

Goal is to prevent imported cases or large-scale outbreaks in densely populated nation with stretched medical resources, committee concludes after meeting

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Workers in protective gear at a locked down neighbourhood in Beijing. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:37pm, 10 Nov 2022

Hopes of an imminent reopening by China after three years of zero-Covid policy have been extinguished, with its top leadership deciding to continue with the stringent measures in anticipation of larger Covid-19 waves in the winter and spring.

“We should firmly implement the general policy of dynamic zero [Covid] … and protect people’s lives and health to the greatest extent possible, while minimising the impact on economic and social development,” China’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee – chaired by President Xi Jinping – said.

China’s zero-Covid response is characterised by mass testing, travel restrictions and extreme measures such as snap lockdowns that can last weeks or months.

The committee decided to hold fast to the strategy to prevent imported coronavirus cases or large-scale domestic outbreaks, according to an official readout of Thursday’s meeting, the committee’s first publicised gathering since taking office last month.

The decision was also attributed to China’s large population size and significant proportion of vulnerable groups, as well as insufficient medical resources and regional developmental imbalance.

“The epidemic is likely to further expand in scope and scale due to virus mutation and weather factors of winter and spring. We must maintain our strategic determination and conduct epidemic control properly and with scientific precision,” the meeting concluded, according to a readout from state news agency Xinhua.