Does China need to rethink its zero-Covid policy?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2022

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

To slow down a surge in Covid cases, last week Chinese authorities put Shanghai into lockdown. But with a population of 26 million there have been difficulties providing residents with basic necessities, and videos have appeared on social media showing protests and scrambles over food supplies. Now, authorities have begun easing the lockdown in some areas, despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new Covid cases. Madeleine Finlay talks to the Guardian’s China affairs correspondent, Vincent Ni, about what’s been happening in Shanghai, whether the Omicron variant may spell the end of China’s zero-Covid policy, and what an alternative strategy could look like This podcast was amended on 15th April 2022 to correct an error in the scripting. We incorrectly stated that Shanghai authorities would start easing lockdown in some areas on Monday 18th April. Lockdown easing began on Monday 11th April.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Guardian.
0:10.0	Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has had a zero COVID policy.
0:19.0	And a few weeks ago, in response to rapidly rising COVID cases, the whole of Shanghai was put
0:26.3	under a very strict lockdown.
0:29.4	The world's third largest city remains in lockdown.
0:33.7	25 million residents ordered confined to their home.
0:38.0	But pretty quickly, things started to go wrong. With reports that locals have been unable to get basic
0:49.6	supplies there have been struggles to get food and medicine.
0:53.0	And some have taken to protesting against the measures from the confines of their homes,
1:05.2	screaming and shouting from their windows and balconies. Shanghai authorities have now begun easing the lockdown in some areas despite recording thousands of new COVID cases.
1:27.8	So is this a sign that China's zero COVID policy needs a rethink. And with the highly transmissible Omicron
1:37.0	variant to contend with, what could a new strategy look like? From the Guardian, I'm Madeline Finley and this is
1:46.7	Science Weekly. Vincent Nee, as the Guardians China Affairs Correspondent, I'm sure you've been very busy working
2:02.3	on COVID throughout the past two years but first off just
2:06.3	tell us what does the day-to-day life in a lockdown in China look like?
2:12.3	Well Madeline in China look like? Well madly in China lockdown means lockdown in most
2:16.8	cases you are not allowed to leave your home some local authorities even seal
2:21.0	off the neighborhood that is under the lockdown so that nobody
2:24.6	will be able to sneak out of it. This matters when it comes to food and a daily
2:29.5	necessities and that is probably why when recent reports of Shanghai residents struggling to get enough food
2:36.0	it came as such a shock to many.
2:38.9	Right and you've recently been reporting on what's been going on in Shanghai and its COVID outbreak. How did the
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