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Shanghai hospital pays the price for China's zero-COVID pursuit

16 Comments
By HUIZHONG WU and DAKE KANG

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16 Comments
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I'm glad I don't live in China. Their deflecting of responsibility for the start of this pandemic plus, non-transparency to the international health inspectors, even blaming it as a conspiracy that the US started, plus their bragging about how well they've governed and managed this all has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I feel for the people there but I'm really not that sympathetic for this country. The people have a bum government.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Hard to say but you cannot really blame the people of China because this is a Communist Government that is fatal in Governing. I am starting to think that with everything happening around the world these days, do the people really need a government? I am beginning to think not.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Millions died globally without much bashing of the lockdowns and deaths in these countries but all the knives are out for China! Each country has a right to do what they think is best for them and the Government decides for its citizens. In Japan the LDP makes many crazy decisions but the public just follow it. The US is even worse as their system is crazy where the state Government and White House make different rules ( no consistency )! Same as in Australia and a very good example was the whole Djokovic saga where the federal Government and state Government has different criteria for entry! All countries have crazy Government system so let’s not be hypocrites and point the finger at one!

I guess one big difference is that the people of China doesn't have a say in who makes those decisions, and that their government doesn't need to worry about what their people want, as no matter the outcome they will still be in power.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I just don't get it. What is so different about Europe letting in the unvaccinated and no spikes and China that closed its borders and we get this. What's going on?

What going on is your data is not correct. The EU is currently experiencing a rapid increase in Covid-19 infections.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/omicrons-subvariant-bapoint2-could-spread-wildly-in-europe-epidemiologist.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/omicron-europe-surge-ba2-us-wave-likely-coming-2022-3?op=1

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1579851/UK-Covid-outbreak-Deltacron-variant-Omicron-latest-hospital-admissions

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I feel somewhat sorry for the normal folks in Shanghai, locked up in their homes - unable to get out, and with very little food being made available - if any.

So there is a story that isn't getting out. Half my family lives in big high rise complexes in Shanghai. One brother in law is a school bus driver. He is obviously not working right now. The other is retired and so is Mama. All live in different apartment blocks. My school bus driver brother in law's complex has essentially no Covid cases so people are allowed outside within the walls of the complex (the gates in and out are guarded normally so the guards can collect parking fees), while in Mama's complex there is a higher level of infection and everyone has to stay indoors.

Food is being brought to them at no charge, at least in the complexes where my family lives. I can't speak for anyplace else. They are given some rice, some vegetables, some meat, some flour and cooking oil. Just the basics but enough and no charge. Food is delivered every two or three days. Some neighbors bellyache that this neighbor got pork and all I got was chicken. One of my wife's favorite sayings is "the neighbors food always looks better than your own". But nobody in my family is going without food.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Each country has a right to do what they think is best for them and the Government decides for its citizens

Ever hear of universal human rights? Or how about the idea the government passes laws with the consent of the governed? In the case of an elected representative government the voters can and most often do change their government when the current one starts passing laws a majority oppose. This forces governments to listen to their constituents if they wish to remain elected. Whereas with China, the CCP does what it wants and does not have to worry about surviving popular elections. This is not to say they ignore public opinion entirely because they know certain bad things could lead to an uprising that would result in many of them being Ceausescu'ed but because they control the media the CCP is able to shape public opinion to a degree by controlling information. What I don't think the CCP is aware of but maybe some suspect is that the Chinese public is not as dumb as they think they are, they have access to information from beyond the Great Firewall and know what's going on. Plus most have relatives in the west who tell them what is going on. Most Chinese are not happy with their government. They make snide remarks about "Harmonious Society" and the like. Some day the CCP is going to make a big mistake, misread the Chinese public the way Russia misread Ukraine and all heck is going to break loose.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The zero-Covid policy is ineffective against Omicron, but it's not why Shanghai hospital is paying the price. That is because of the low vaccination rate among the elderly.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A million deaths in US of A and China is the one dealing with covid badly? Do me a favour.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What's sad to me is that Shanghai could be one of the worlds hippest cities if they weren't controlled by an obnoxious single party police state. It is China's most cosmopolitan city and there is an avant garde undercurrent you can feel crackling away, but it is heavily suppressed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Weren't there hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide in hospitals, caused by Covid?

There, you have proved that the Chinese policy is no better than the rest of the world, except for the fact it is a much bigger burden to the economy. Not better results for a much higher investment of resources.

Zero covid policy has been the most effective statistically at keeping infection rates and related deaths low, which is why China had the lowest rates per million population in the world.

Except that by your own sources this is completely false, with other countries doing better than China, it also fails to consider the indirect deaths produced by the policy, and the fact that the CCP is well known to be hiding information that proves their actions have negative consequences.

Even the deaths mentioned in this article are being hidden by the government.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The conditions and deaths at the hospital are a sharp rebuke against China's strategy of sticking to a zero-COVID policy as it deals with the outbreak in Shanghai in which most of the infected people don't have symptoms.

Weren't there hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide in hospitals, caused by Covid?

Was there a price to pay for those?

Zero covid policy has been the most effective statistically at keeping infection rates and related deaths low, which is why China had the lowest rates per million population in the world.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Millions died globally without much bashing of the lockdowns and deaths in these countries but all the knives are out for China! Each country has a right to do what they think is best for them and the Government decides for its citizens. In Japan the LDP makes many crazy decisions but the public just follow it. The US is even worse as their system is crazy where the state Government and White House make different rules ( no consistency )! Same as in Australia and a very good example was the whole Djokovic saga where the federal Government and state Government has different criteria for entry! All countries have crazy Government system so let’s not be hypocrites and point the finger at one!

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

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