After Easing 'Zero-COVID,' Cases Soar in Beijing

Facts

• COVID cases are reportedly skyrocketing in Beijing after the city eased its highly restrictive “zero-Covid” policies. Across the city, there are reportedly scenes of empty streets and shops but this is reportedly due to disruption caused by soaring infections, and not policies regarding lockdowns or quarantines.
• China’s National Health Commission (NHC) says it has become “impossible” to track the exact number of COVID cases after rolling back mandatory testing. The NHC has also stopped keeping track of asymptomatic cases.
• The NHC documented 2,291 symptomatic cases on Tuesday, with hospitals reporting record numbers of ill COVID patients. State media reports a six-fold increase in COVID cases in hospitals and a 16-fold increase in "fever clinics."
• Ben Cowling, chair professor of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong, said, “The current strains will spread faster in China than they have spread in other parts of the world because those other parts of the world have some immunity against infection from previous waves of earlier Omicron strains.”
• Meanwhile, Pres. Xi Jinping is reportedly convening the Politburo and senior government officials to discuss economic recovery plans following years of COVID lockdown policies.
• Pfizer has also finalized an agreement to sell the antiviral Paxlovid to the PRC as cases surge. The initial agreement was first announced in March 2022 and is now being operationalized.

Sources: CNN, New York Post, Guardian, Reuters, and Finance.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Atlantic. Pres. Xi Jinping’s handling of the COVID pandemic is an unmitigated disaster, and the devastating fallout rests squarely on his shoulders. Xi’s extended lockdowns wreaked irreparable harm on his country’s economy and the mental health of PRC citizens. His new policies are now causing an exponentiating mass infection and public health crisis — this is dangerous for China and the entire world.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Xinhua. Can the West show just a bit of appreciation for China's COVID policies? Zero-COVID contained widespread outbreaks that could have crippled China and global supply chains. Now, with better tools, the PRC's thoughtful re-opening is also giving a boost in the arm to the weary global economy. What isn't covered in Western media outlets are movie tickets being eagerly snapped up by China's residents and the excitement of Lunar New Year travels. Beijing's policies have benefited the nation and the world.