Shanghai Covid -Benjamin Mateus, Evan Blake

“US orders non-emergency staff out of Shanghai consulate as a provocation against Zero-COVID policy”, 13 April 2022, Benjamin Mateus, WSWS, at < https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/04/13/chin-a13.html >

And

“Chinese authorities complete COVID testing for Shanghai’s population of 25 million in less than one day”, 5 April 2022, Benjamin Mateus, WSWS, at < https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/04/06/viru-a06.html >

And

“Finance capital demands an end to Shanghai’s lockdown and China’s Zero-COVID policy”, “Perspective”, 30 March 2022, Evan Blake, WSWS, at < https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/03/31/pers-m31.html >.

Introduction by dmorista:

While most of the propaganda and disinformation energies of the Western Corporate Controlled Media have been directed at constructing the myths they want the Western populace to believe about Ukraine other things have been happening in the world. One of the most important other issues is the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic as it continues to kill, and cause grievous long-covid syndromes in, large numbers of people. The World Socialist Website (WSWS) maintains an excellent section of archived articles from their about the Covid Pandemic in China, the U.S. and other places. The response of the Chinese to the continuing outbreaks of new variant and sub-variants of the fast mutating virus has been very different from what has occurred in the West, in particular in the U.S. with its inadequate for-profit healthcare system and nearly non-existent social services.

The Chinese are currently using the Zero-Covid policy to contend with the difficult to contain the outbreak of the Omicron sub-variants BA.1 and BA.2. The Chinese Omicron outbreak is mostly located in Shanghai, and to a lesser extent in a major city in Jilin province. The U.S. and Western Europe no longer even try to effectively control Covid outbreaks. The U.S. has ordered non-essential consulate staff to leave Shanghai in a move the Chinese have criticized as a publicity exercise. The first article posted, “US orders non-emergency staff out of Shanghai consulate as a provocation against Zero-COVID policy”, notes that there are two new Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5 that have been identified in South Africa. These variants have a worrisome mutation in their proteins that is not present in subvariants BA.1 and BA.2. Chinese officials and health policy experts are bracing for the arrival of the new subvariants.

The response of China's health care system to these outbreaks has been far more vigorous than anything seen in the West. The second article “Chinese authorities complete COVID testing for Shanghai’s population of 25 million in less than one day” points out their much more effective and comprehensive response. The testing of 25 million people for Covid in one day in Shanghai is a rate of testing over 10 times that ever achieved in the U.S. There are problems with providing enough food and other needed supplies to the millions of people in lockdowns but the Chinese National authorities are taking over that effort from local authorities. There are already improvements in that area reported. The great majority of people in China, the working class, solidly support the Covid-Free policy the national government has pursued for the past 2 1/2 years. They realize it is not a perfect methodology but appreciate the fact that they, their Children, and their elderly have not been killed off in the type of uncontrolled outbreaks that have swept the U.S. and Europe.

The last article, “Finance capital demands an end to Shanghai’s lockdown and China’s Zero-COVID policy”, takes on the issue of the motives of the capitalist elites who oppose the Zero-Covid policy of the Chinese leadership. The WSWS article quotes material from an editorial that appeared in the Financial Times of London entitled “China’s zero-Covid goal is no longer sustainable.” The editorial stated that: “Shanghai is China’s most populous city and its financial capital. Offices and factories are moving their staff into on-site ‘bubbles,’ isolated from the outside world, so they can keep working. The economy will suffer nonetheless. Succeed or fail, therefore, the Shanghai lockdowns show the utility of China’s zero-Covid strategy is coming to an end. It is time to prepare for an exit.” Those sentiments are echoed by similar editorials and articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Another WSWS article noted that when compared to China: “ ... the US is doubling down on 'living with the virus.' COVID-19 surveillance systems are being rapidly dismantled, adhering to fascistic former president Trump’s infamous quip, 'If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases' ”. (Emphasis added) {See, “Shanghai lockdown extended indefinitely as COVID-19 cases continue to climb”, April 8, 2022, Benjamin Mateus, WSWS, at < https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/04/09/chin-a09.html >}

Apologies from NB, for some reason, I could not copy the articles into this post so please follow the links at the top to read them.