Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-Covid exit cost lives

Pandemic prevention workers leave for their shift to look after buildings where residents do home quarantine in Beijing, Dec. 8, 2022. [Courtesy, VOA]

In early November, then-Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, China's Covid czar, summoned experts from sectors including health, travel and the economy to discuss adjusting Beijing's virus policies, according to three people with direct knowledge of the meetings. On November 10, Xi ordered adjustments.

The next day, Beijing announced 20 new measures tweaking restrictions, such as reclassifying risk zones and reducing quarantine times. But at the same time, Xi made clear, China was sticking to zero-Covid.

With conflicting signals from the top, local governments weren't sure whether to lock down or open up. Policies changed by the day.

In late November, public frustration boiled over. A deadly apartment fire in China's far west Xinjiang region sparked nationwide protests over locked doors and other virus control measures. Some called on Xi to resign, the most direct challenge to the Communist Party's power since pro-democracy protests in 1989.

Riot police moved in, and the protests were swiftly quelled. But behind the scenes, the mood was shifting.

References to zero-Covid vanished from government statements. State newswire Xinhua said the pandemic was causing "fatigue, anxiety and tension," and that the cost of controlling it was increasing day by day.

Days after the protests, Sun held meetings where she told medical experts the state planned to "walk briskly" out of zero-Covid. The final decision was made suddenly, and with little direct input from public health experts, several told the AP.

"None of us expected the 180-degree turn," a government adviser said.

Many in the Chinese government believe the protests accelerated Xi's decision to scrap virus controls entirely, according to three current and former state employees.

"It was the trigger," said one, not identified because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

On December 6, Xi instructed officials to change Covid-19 controls, Xinhua reported.

The next day, Chinese health authorities announced 10 sweeping measures that effectively scrapped controls, canceling virus test requirements, mandatory centralized quarantine and location-tracking health QR codes. The decision to reopen so suddenly caught the country by surprise.

"Even three days' notice would have been good," said a former China CDC official. "The way this happened was just unbelievable."