As China Eases COVID-19 Restrictions, Fear Of Epidemic Spreads

Residents across China have grown anxious over the fast-approaching specter of a potential large-scale outbreak of the new coronavirus, as the Chinese government recently announced its 10 measures for epidemic prevention, resulting in a rush to buy drugs such as Lianhua Qingwen that are said to be able to treat the condition. Chinese authorities are further attempting to grapple with the possibility of a major outbreak by continuing to construct compartment hospitals in Guangzhou and Shandong, while Beijing's East District has reportedly revealed that 30% of 100,000 random tests came back positive, adding to the public's fear.

The sudden changes made to the country's approach to epidemic prevention have left those living in lockdown particularly panicky, with reports now circulating that people have been reassured to remember that "the country doesn't care about you, epidemic prevention is up to you". This appears to have triggered an additional wave of drug buying, and the prices of these medications have ballooned, including for Lianhua Qingwen in Shenzhen rising to 100 yuan a box in several areas.

In response, government officials held a press conference on Wednesday in which they called on the public not to hoard and rush to buy drugs, emphasizing that they were confident they had sufficient supplies. However, pharmacies across Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Shandong and Guangdong have since reported that stocks of epidemic-related drugs are almost sold out. Furthermore, the Market Supervision Bureau is investigating allegations of inflated pricing on e-commerce platforms.

Adding to this climate of panic was an online report on Thursday claiming that an internal meeting at the East District Government Affairs Service Center had revealed that out of 10,000 samples tested in Beijing, 36,100 had come back positive – leading to fears that 60% of the city's population would eventually test positive for the virus. Despite this report, no official comment has yet been made on the matter.

China's drastic policy shift towards relaxing many of its quarantine and testing requirements has further piqued public apprehension, as the economic toll of the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to be felt across the nation. The Wall Street Journal Chinese website wrote Friday that the Chinese leadership is now more focused on preventing the detrimental effects of such preventative measures than on the risk of an ongoing surge of infections, citing that the quantity of new cases in November reached its highest level ever recorded, while exports in the same month suffered the most significant drop in more than two years.

There are also reports of China trying to hide what the real number of cases are, as it allegedly trying to downplay the spike in cases. In December 2019, the novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China. The virus quickly spread throughout the country, leading to a nationwide epidemic. In response, the Chinese government implemented a series of measures to contain the spread of the virus, including locking down entire cities, restricting travel, and closing schools and businesses.

The Chinese government also implemented strict measures to control the flow of information about the outbreak. This included censoring social media and news outlets, as well as arresting and detaining individuals who were critical of the government's response to the crisis. The Chinese government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by strict containment measures and a heavy-handed approach to information control. While these measures may have helped to slow the spread of the virus, they also led to widespread criticism and accusations of human rights violations.