As I see it | China’s Covid shift means it’s time to ask what lessons we can learn from the pandemic
- The coronavirus should be a warning that the world must be better prepared to deal with future outbreaks of infectious disease
- There is now a trust deficit in China and greater transparency will improve the country’s ability to tackle future health crises
Covid-19 caught the world unprepared three years ago, and since the early stages of the pandemic many people have been asking why the world handled the situation so badly despite many warnings about the risks of such an outbreak over the years.
As the virus continues to mutate and sweep across the world, causing one wave after another, people and their governments have been looking for ways to cope, such as researching the behaviour of the virus and developing and promoting vaccines and cures.
First, how is the world going to live with the virus in the long term while minimising its harm to the population?
Second, what have we learned from the past to help us prevent and manage another pandemic? Scientists have pointed out the risks of new infectious diseases emerging due to the expansion of human habitats, making the spillover of disease from animals to people more likely.
Beijing’s attitude towards the virus has swung from one extreme to another. For almost three years it emphasised the risks of the virus and spent enormous resources guarding against its spread, but after abruptly lifting controls it is now trying to allay public fears by stressing that most infections are mild.