[ad_1]
While tougher measures had to be taken in this country in the fight against the corona virus, so far China has been spared a second wave. There are many reasons for this.
By Ruth Kirchner, ARD-Studio Beijing
China’s official crown numbers have been low for weeks: no deaths, the number of new infections mostly in the double-digit range. Authorities are quick to react to new outbreaks, such as the recent ones in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, with lockdowns and massive testing. Around the city of Kashgar, for example, more than four million people underwent corona tests in just a few days.
Try right away, don’t wait for people to develop symptoms, strictly isolate infected and sick people – so far, China has apparently managed to avoid a second corona wave. In addition, entry restrictions continue to apply with strict two-week quarantine in specially designated hotels.
Strict controls
In authoritarian China, the authorities have control and intervention that would be inconceivable in Western democracies. Personal rights to freedom or data protection do not influence, for example, the follow-up of contacts. Corona applications that create precise motion profiles are part of everyday life. When entering restaurants, cafes or shops, scan a QR code to register, which has also been normal since Corona. However, cities and provinces sometimes proceed very differently: Beijing, for example, is stricter than Shanghai.
And when there are sources of infection, local closures are strictly controlled, as are quarantine orders. After a crown outbreak at a Beijing wholesale market in the summer, for example, all employees were initially no longer allowed to leave the city. Many restrictions were immediately reintroduced in the metropolis. Primary schools, for example, which had just gradually reopened, remained closed.
Testing capabilities expanded
Useful for the Communist Party: The so-called neighborhood committees of the Communist Party have been firmly established for decades and are part of a tight-knit social control.
In addition, China has consistently expanded its corona testing capabilities since the spring. An urban test center is planned for every million inhabitants, which will carry out up to 30,000 tests a day in the event of a local outbreak. Requirements also include that a test campaign can be completed in one week. In the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, for example, eleven million tests were carried out just days after a corona outbreak in early October.
Experience with SARS and avian flu
These massive tests are mandatory and should also help calm the population. Criticism should not even come as at the beginning of the pandemic.
There’s also another reason China has weathered fall well so far: After SARS and bird flu, many people know how important it is to protect themselves. Discussions about the pros and cons of masks are unknown in China. State protection measures are generally not questioned and trust in the government is high. According to popular belief, health is more important than freedom or data protection. It is not possible to complain or demonstrate against state measures in the courts of the People’s Republic.
