As leaders meet Chinese hope for end to ' zero-COVID' limits Health - Travel HEAD TOPICS

As leaders meet Chinese hope for end to ' zero-COVID' limits

10/21/2022 10:13:00 AM

China is doubling down on its at times draconian zero-COVID policies even as the population may have wished for a hint at the Communist Party' s congress that the rules would be eased

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The Associated Press

China is doubling down on its at times draconian “zero-COVID” policies, even as the population may have wished for a hint at the Communist Party's congress that the rules would be eased. BEIJING (AP) — As China ’s ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of the at times draconian “zero-COVID” policies that are disrupting lives and the economy? After an initial outbreak in early 2020 that killed more than 4,000 people and overflowed hospitals and morgues, China was largely successful in taming the virus while other countries were overwhelmed with it — a contrast trumpeted in Communist Party propaganda. The measures have bred simmering discontent, fed by instances of harsh enforcement that in some cases had tragic consequences.ADVERTISEMENTAndy Chen, senior analyst at Trivium China, a Beijing-headquartered policy consultancy, said restrictions beyond the party congress should come as no surprise. Read more:
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Home sales in the US declined for the eighth month in a row in September as surging mortgage rates and high prices pushed buyers out of the market. Read more >> College Enrollment Declines Again Though Online Schools, HBCUs See IncreasesCollege enrollment dropped for the third consecutive school year after the start of the pandemic, dashing universities’ hopes that a post-Covid rebound was at hand. College is a rip off! College cost too much. Especially for freshman that are literally forced to live on campus and get the most expensive meal plan (which are often more than the tuition). HBCU enrollment is increasing though. That's good. Because college is not a safe environment. Assumption of guilt upon accusation of saying the wrong thing, sexual assault. Who would pay to go to an environment where free speech isn't allowed? Seriously? House Republicans press Biden administration over purchase of Chinese COVID kitsHouse Republicans are pressing the Biden administration over reports that the government purchased $1.3 billion worth of Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 test kits. I guess since they gave us Covid it’s only fair that they charge us for the tests. I mean everything can’t be free can it? GOPoversight Meanwhile, here's a picture of a baby suckling a bottle. Chinese stocks tumble to multi-year lows in New York and Hong Kong amid party congress CNN BusinessChinese stocks have hit multi-year lows in New York and Hong Kong amid growing concerns about China ’s rising Covid cases and economic outlook. Wouldn't that be a good thing? America wins again. Good? FDA OKs Novavax COVID Vaccine as First Booster ShotOn Wednesday, the FDA approved Novavax Inc.'s protein-based vaccine as a first booster dose. Until now, it had only been approved as a two-dose primary series. Covid-19: QUB asks breast cancer patients about experiencesA charity has awarded Queen's University than £200k in funding to assess services during Covid-19. Pentagon to provide funds, help for troops seeking abortions Any hopes for an easing, though, appear to have been dashed before the congress.The rate of the decline has slowed this fall, with college enrollment dropping 1.Follow Us.Chinese stocks have hit multi-year lows in New York and Hong Kong amid growing concerns about China’s rising Covid cases and economic outlook. The Communist Party’s newspaper, the People’s Daily, published a series of opinion pieces on the effectiveness of China’s “zero-COVID” approach, and health officials said last week China must stick with it. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, praised the policy at the opening ceremony of the congress. Over the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, enrollment according to the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit that released a report Thursday. He said it had prioritized and protected people’s health and safety and made a “tremendous achievement in striking the balance between epidemic response and economic and social development.” After an initial outbreak in early 2020 that killed more than 4,000 people and overflowed hospitals and morgues, China was largely successful in taming the virus while other countries were overwhelmed with it — a contrast trumpeted in Communist Party propaganda. Then came omicron in late 2021. The fall comes just a day after the city’s leader, Chief Executive John Lee, promised to invest billions of dollars to bring global talent and businesses back to Hong Kong. China had to employ ever more widespread restrictions to control the faster-spreading variant, locking down entire cites and starting regular testing of practically the entire population of 1.4 billion people. ADVERTISEMENT The measures have bred simmering discontent, fed by instances of harsh enforcement that in some cases had tragic consequences. During a two-month lockdown of Shanghai last spring, videos widely shared on social media showed officials breaking down apartment doors to drag unwilling residents to quarantine facilities. Children were also separated from their parents, because one or the other was infected. Baidu\n \n (BIDU) sank more than 7%. Instances of hospitals denying treatment because of pandemic rules sparked outrage, including a woman in labor who lost her baby after she wasn’t allowed into a hospital during a lockdown of the city of Xi’an because she couldn’t show a negative COVID-19 test result. ADVERTISEMENT While public protests are relatively rare in China, some people took to the streets in Shanghai and Dandong to protest harsh and prolonged lockdowns. Last week, three days before the congress opened, banners were flung over an elevated roadway calling for Xi’s overthrow and an end to the “zero-COVID” policy. The incident spilled over into at least one other city, where photos shared on Twitter showed similar statements posted on a bus stop in the city of Xi’an. Andy Chen, senior analyst at Trivium China, a Beijing-headquartered policy consultancy, said restrictions beyond the party congress should come as no surprise.com\n \n (JD) lost 7. “All the conditions that have forced the government to put zero-COVID in place haven’t really changed,” he said, singling out the lack of an effective vaccine and the absence of sound home quarantine rules. Even though vaccines are widely available, China’s homegrown versions don’t work as well as the Pfizer, Moderna and other shots developed elsewhere. China also has resisted vaccine mandates, keeping down vaccination rates. As of mid-October, 90% had received two shots, but only 57% had a booster shot. ADVERTISEMENT Beijing authorities have doubled down on the hardline coronavirus policies during the congress.3%. Highway checkpoints into the city are heavily policed, with all entrants required to show a “green” code on a mobile phone app to prove they haven’t traveled to medium or high-risk areas. Some express commuter bus lines between Beijing and neighboring Tianjin city and Hebei province have been suspended since Oct. 12. Anyone who has been in a city, district, or neighborhood where even one case of coronavirus has been found within seven days is banned from entering the Chinese capital. Within the city, the daily lives of residents are dictated by their health codes. Japan’s nikkei 22\n \n (N225)5 dropped 0. They must use an app to scan the QR code of any facility they enter to show their status and log their whereabouts. Without a green code and a negative coronavirus test result within 72 hours, people are not allowed into office buildings, shopping malls, restaurants and other public places. The policy means most of Beijing’s 21 million-plus residents take a coronavirus test at least two to three times a week. ADVERTISEMENT And there is always the risk of a sudden lockdown. Officials in hazmat suits guarded entries to gated communities this week in Fengtai district, where five neighborhoods have been categorized as high-risk.1%. Residents were not allowed to leave their compounds, and some shops were forced to close. While the party congress has not provided the watershed moment that some have been hoping for, it may turn out to be the point at which the government begins to lay the groundwork for a long process of loosening restrictions, said Dr. Yanzhong Huang, director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University and an expert on public health in China. Some factors suggest the government will be in no rush to open up, including a broad acceptance of the policy among those who are inconvenienced but have not experienced prolonged or repeated lockdowns. “The vast, vast majority of the population goes on with their lives, unaffected, and that’s a much better policy from the government perspective to implement than, for example, forcing a vaccine mandate through the population,” Chen said. Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term in power at the week-long congress. But Huang noted signs of social instability, especially among the middle class and urban residents. “I think the question is whether it has reached a tipping point that people really find this is not acceptable anymore,” he said. “We cannot tolerate that anymore. It remains to be seen even in the large cities, you know, how people are willing to tolerate draconian measures.” ___ Ji reported from Bangkok. “China’s decision to delay the release of key economic readings could suggest the data is so ugly that they don’t want it released during the party’s congress,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas at Oanda, in a research note on Wednesday. Associated Press video producers Olivia Zhang and Wayne Zhang contributed. AP NEWS .