Lanjo, a northwestern town of more than 4 million people, was locked up on Tuesday after six government reports were brought to light there.
At least that attitude seems to be what it is now. While some Chinese health officials have recommended temporary or partial easing once vaccination rates hit 85%, researchers say most restrictions are unlikely to be eased in the next 12 months.
Things couldn’t be so different in China’s Asia-Pacific neighborhood, however.
As of Monday, South Korea will start living with the virus, despite thousands of new confirmed cases every week. The new measures will allow up to 10 people to attend private meetings across the country, while most businesses will be able to fully reopen once the curfew is over.
It’s not just national restrictions that are moving in the region.
Australia also began to partially reopen its borders to fully vaccinated citizens on Monday, ending nearly two years of strict border rules separating families.
South Korea has returned to normal life
With hundreds of cases per day in March 2020, South Korea was one of the first countries to be affected by the Big Bang-19 eruption.
Like many countries in Asia-Pacific, it quickly got the infection under control. When Europe and North America experienced major outbreaks in 2020, countries like South Korea, China, Thailand and Australia were able to keep the virus at manageable levels – or keep it at bay. ‘gap for a long time.
“With the delta variant, it is almost impossible to eradicate,” said Zhengming Sen, professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford. “The experience in Australia and New Zealand, they tried so hard, but you got to the point where you couldn’t continue in Lockdown. He will come again and again. ”
On Friday, with at least 73% of South Korea’s population now fully vaccinated, Prime Minister Kim Jong Un said, “It is time for the country to take the first step towards returning to normal life.”
The curfew was lifted at 10 p.m. in businesses, including restaurants and bars, while mass gatherings of up to 499 people can take place once everyone has been vaccinated. All students will return to school starting Nov. 22, according to the Department of Education.
The restrictions were lifted despite the growing number of Govt-19 cases over the past week. As of Sunday, 1,686 new infections were reported in South Korea, bringing the total number to 366,386 since the start of the epidemic. In South Korea, 2,858 people have died from the disease so far.
This is not the end of the fight against Govt-19, Prime Minister Kim said, “a new beginning”. The country’s health minister has warned that reopening could lead to an increase in infections.
Despite local virus outbreaks, other countries in the region are following suit.
Last week, Thailand reported an average of 9,000 new Kovit-19 infections per day, far longer than the months of single-digit cases for most of 2020. Despite high infection rates, the country reopens its doors to international travelers. According to Reuters, it is trying to save its tourism sector, which accounted for more than 11% of GDP in 2019.
As of Monday, citizens of dozens of low-risk countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, will be able to travel to Thailand without isolating themselves. In an October 12 statement, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-sa said the country should not miss the December vacation. “We need to act quickly, but be more vigilant and not miss the opportunity to attract travelers to the New Year and New Year holidays,” he said.
For the Asia-Pacific region, the rise of zero government is a test to see if people who previously praised the low infection rates and elimination strategy can live safely with the virus.
Australia’s two largest states, New South Wales and Victoria, have already abandoned their eradication strategy and more than 70% of adults start living with the virus once they are fully vaccinated.
So far, infection rates have not increased and Australia’s borders in some states will reopen to citizens for the first time on Monday.
While the increase in cases is certain, Chen said the vaccine has significantly reduced the severity of COV-19 in many patients and provided a window for countries to reopen.
“At some point you have to open up and really let things escalate, but in a manageable way,” he said. “You can’t just do a permanent lockdown because the virus is circulating.”
China More Than Doubles Zero-Govt
But China has shown no sign of easing its tough stance on Govt-19.
Currently, China’s borders are largely closed, air traffic is severely restricted, and foreign students and tourists are not allowed entry. Chinese citizens and some other international visitors are allowed entry, but they must be isolated for at least two weeks.
Inside the country, even a small number of cases in a city can lead to rapid and widespread flooding.
The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are set to begin in February, following China’s reluctance to reopen its borders. After seeing the chaos and postponement as the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics approaches, the Chinese government does not want this to happen again.
But according to SOAS China director Steven Chang, the 2022 Winter Olympics won’t be the only major event to play in Beijing’s strategy next year. In November, the Chinese Communist Party will hold its 20th Congress, which will hold a mass meeting of the country’s leaders twice a decade, where President Xi Jinping is expected to take office for the third time.
Zhang said Xi wanted no indication the virus was under control in the country before leaving for Congress in November. “How can it seem that Xi Jinping didn’t beat the virus? he said. “Xi said the Chinese system is superior.
“As a global financial center, it should have a very user-friendly access system, but China’s vision of Hong Kong, Xi’s vision, is China’s global financial center,” he said.
Chen, of the University of Oxford, said there could be uncertainty in the country’s leadership over the effectiveness of vaccines made in China. One of the most widely used scenarios has been shown to be much less effective in international trials than mRNA vaccines, including Sinovac, Pfizer, and Moderna.
In addition, a large number of tests have not been conducted on the elderly, he said, adding that they could be vulnerable in the event of an explosion.
“Why shouldn’t we open up? He told the government-run China Daily.
Chen said China will likely see what happens in other parts of the region before deciding what to do at its own borders. He said Beijing would consider opening earlier if there were major eruptions in Asia-Pacific countries coexisting with the government.
“It gives China some hope to relax,” he said.
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