why is the country maintaining its zero Covid strategy?

Shanghai (China) is still confined, Sunday May 1. Unceremoniously, the authorities sometimes hunt down the sick. “The police just broke down our door without even having proof that we were positive for Covid-19”, says a man on Chinese social networks. The containment and isolation of positive cases in quarantine centers are two pillars of China’s “zero Covid” policy, which is increasingly contested in the country. The authorities are ready to do anything to fight the virus. 19 Chinese provinces are now affected, and 180 million people affected by total or partial containment.

With the outbreak of the Omicron variant, authorities believe that the Chinese health system cannot accommodate more patients. The level of vaccination is also low among the most vulnerable people: 51% of those over 80 have received two doses, 20% a third dose. However, the health battle is above all a political choice. “The objective of the Chinese political authorities is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the health response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and ultimately to praise the superiority of the Chinese model of governance, compared to Western liberal democracies”analyzes Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research.