Xi signals China's approach of zero tolerance here to stay

Has China become "numb and lax" in fighting Covid-19?

This is what President Xi Jinping has asked local government officials, in a strong signal that China would not be deviating from its zero-tolerance approach in dealing with the disease.

Mr Xi reportedly asked local officials: "Has our thinking become numb and lax? Are prevention and control measures not being strictly implemented? Do they need to be further improved? Are all access points being guarded to prevent the virus from entering?"

Reports referencing Mr Xi's "important instructions" started surfacing at the start of this month.

"The whole city, all levels, departments, party members and cadres must return to their work state they had at the start of the pandemic, resolutely overcome their 'numbed' thinking," read a report from Ya'an city in Sichuan province on Monday.

In Shishou city in Hubei province, the mayor told officials on Tuesday that those who neglected their duties in epidemic prevention and control would be "seriously dealt with".

Such reminders come after months of few or zero domestic transmissions led to lax enforcement of preventive measures.

China is battling a wave of the Delta variant following a cluster that emerged at Nanjing's Lukou International Airport on July 20. The virus has since spread to over a dozen of China's 31 provinces.

The highly infectious nature of the variant and the difficulty it poses in achieving herd immunity led to a debate in China on whether the country should move away from its "zero-tolerance approach" and recognise that the virus would be endemic.

At the end of last month, trusted Chinese virologist Zhang Wenhong said in a note on Weibo that the outbreak that began in Nanjing showed the virus was here to stay.

"More and more people now believe the epidemic will not end in the short term, and may not even end in the long term. Most virologists in the world now recognise that this is an endemic virus, and the world must learn to coexist with it," he said. Higher vaccination rates will reduce the severity of the disease, he added.

But official comments signal that China would stick to its approach.

Former health minister Gao Qiang, in a People's Daily article this month, appeared to take aim at Professor Zhang, saying it was "absolutely impossible" for mankind to coexist with the virus, and that China's approach cannot change as long as there was a risk of the virus entering the country.

Beijing has blamed the outbreak on slackening local officials, and has come down hard on those it sees as responsible.

Deputy director of the National Health Commission's grassroots department Gao Guangming said yesterday that policies have not been implemented properly or in a timely fashion, and in some cases "shortcuts have been taken".

Experts say these comments, along with Mr Xi's, are a clear indication that China's zero-tolerance approach will not change for now.

Part of the reason why it is hesitant could be because the efficacy of Chinese vaccines lag behind those from Western countries.

"In China, the vaccination campaign is very successful, but... the efficacy and effectiveness are in question," said University of Hong Kong virologist Jin Dongyan.

The Communist Party of China has also tagged its legitimacy to protecting lives by its successful containment of the virus, and would find it difficult to change tack. "China is like a big ship - making U-turn is going to be difficult and costly," said Professor Jin.