Like net-zero emissions, ‘zero covid’ sounds impressive. How ambitious China was in pursuit of that goal was evident after a video grab of Shanghai under lockdown went viral. A widely circulated clip of unknown authenticity echoed what seemed like an agony from the balconies of apartments in early 2020 Wuhan. As there were some reports of poor food delivery to households, there was speculation of “cries of hunger”.
Shanghai began a phased shutdown on March 28 to contain the Covid outbreak, but it was difficult to keep numbers down. In this mega city of 26 crores, about 26,000 cases were reported on Sunday. Still, officials began easing restrictions in some areas for reasons that may have nothing to do with the low risk of infection. Reports suggest that the unrest created by the difficulties has begun to affect Beijing’s zero-Covid policy; While ridiculed as unrealistic by observers in the Western world, it remains firmly in place. For the sake of the people of the Republic, however, it should be the science of epistemology, not the prestige of high office that determines how to fight an epidemic that has already caused so much suffering. China must be real.
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