China towards farewell to the “zero Covid” strategy: “Pandemic in a new phase, we have new tasks”

China’s efforts against Covid-19 are “in a new phase”. This was guaranteed – after days of protests organized by thousands of citizens exhausted by the blockades – was the Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Sun Chun Lanresponsible for fighting the virus.

The senior government official said that “over time, the Omicron variant becomes less pathogenic, more people are vaccinated and our experience in preventing Covid-19 increases. Our fight against the pandemic is in a new phase and involves new tasks” .

Sun’s remarks, while devoid of any reference to ‘dynamic zero-Covid’, are the first official and public admission that the changed epidemiological picture requires a change in the measures to be implementedsignaling that the country can finally move away from the strategy based on lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines, at the origin of an economic collapse, international isolation and growing frustration of the people.

Sun, appointed by President Xi to handle the fight against the virus, has become a symbol of the unyielding approach to the pandemic, earning the nickname of ‘Old lady lock🇧🇷 Incidentally, it was she who accompanied police operations on the ground in Wuhan at the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, becoming one of the main references of Chinese health strategies in the last three years.

However, new variants and the arrival of vaccines have made the standard response less and less effective. It remains to be seen whether the softened tone of Sun, who is due to leave the government in March 2023, will be able to appease the mood. frustration and anger of protesters who in recent days have held protests in several Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, against strict anti-Covid policies.

Sun’s intervention follows that of the National Health Commission, which yesterday announced the rectification of the current pandemic measures and urged local governments to “respond and resolve the reasonable requests of the masses” in a timely manner. Sun also spoke of a “human-centered approach” and that China should improve its “diagnosis, testing, treatment and quarantine” measures, continue to increase vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, and increase drugs and resources. doctors.