A total of 2,723 new infections were reported in China on Sunday, of which 2,417 were
in Shanghai. There were also 20,639 asymptomatic infections reported, of which 19,831
were in Shanghai. Together, the number is comparable to that of Wuhan in its worst day
of early February, 2020.
It is safe to say that the ongoing wave of novel coronavirus infections poses an
unprecedented challenge to the Chinese mainland, especially Shanghai. With a
population of more than 25 million, the lockdown of the mega-city is the only measure
possible to prevent the number from rising so fast that it overwhelms it medical
system.
A lockdown is a lockdown. It will naturally mean inconveniences for local residents.
Having to stay at home for weeks has already exhausted some residents' patience. The
shortages of food and high commodity prices have resulted in a growing number of
complaints. That's why Vice-Mayor Zong Ming apologized at a news conference on April 9,
admitting there is much that can be done to improve the government's work performance
and the Shanghai residents have sacrificed much for the anti-pandemic work.
What is happening in Shanghai has caught the attention of the world. While sympathy
and support has been forthcoming, there has also been the claim that "the solution is
worse than the problem", as suggested in Trevor Noah's Daily Show.
But the facts prove otherwise. In the United States, where anti-pandemic measures
have been loosened, the total number of infectors has already reached 80.6 million
and the death toll due to COVID has reached 988,617. The situation is similar in
the United Kingdom, which has ended all restrictions, with 4.38 million infections
and 127,270 deaths in total.
Things are going back to "normal" in some Western countries, but for that "normal"
a heavy price is being paid with people's lives.
That's a price that China is not willing to pay. For China, every life matters and
it is doing all it can so that tens of millions don't get infected and so prevent
millions of deaths. Senior citizens are especially vulnerable to to the virus. There
are 264 million elderly in China, that's almost six times the adult population of
the US.
The lockdown is a tough solution, but the problems Shanghai faces because of it are
more tolerable than the problem of letting the virus spared freely.
Some argue that the Omicron variant is mild, but it is not the only variant of the
virus and if the virus is allowed to run wild more strains will emerge.
The country will not test the mildness of every variant that may emerge with human
lives.
It is based on its cherishing every life that China has been adhere to its dynamic
clearing strategy. Actually, before the latest wave of the pandemic, daily life in
China has generally returned to normal for two years, with the pandemic brought
largely under control. This enabled the country to become the only major economy to
achieve positive economic growth in 2020. Most people can still go to Walmart, and
they can do so assured of their safety rather than going there fearing they may get
infected.
Of all the confirmed 2,417 infections found in Shanghai on Sunday, 1,409 were
found in closed loops and 853 were those who were previously asymptomatic, which
is a good sign, as it means the majority of new infections under monitoring. The
ongoing wave in Shanghai will be controlled and local residents' daily life will
return to normal.
And welcome Noah and our colleagues from all over the world to visit the
municipality then. At least in this municipality and this country, will they be free
from the fear of being infected.