China’s Ruthless But Effective Covid ‘Army’ Prepares for the Winter Olympics

The People’s Republic of China has mobilized hundreds of thousands of government workers to enforce its “Zero Covid policy.”

Although the policy has helped to put Covid-19 at bay, many have put into question the “Draconian” methods of what The New York Times has labelled “The Covid Army.”

The city of Xi’an, capital of the Northwest province of Shaanxi, lived for a few weeks in late December and early January in what has been described as the biggest lockdown since Wuhan in 2019.

Xi’an, one of China’s historical capitals, is home to almost 13 million people.

The city is also the home of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the world-famous Terracotta Warriors.

The provincial capital had on late December an average of 135 new Covid-19 cases per day and virtually no deaths, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.

This was more than enough for Chinese authorities to shut down the city in December 2021, despite the locals having very little time to prepare.

Just to give a comparison: Madrid, Spain's capital, had an average of 12,000 new cases around the same time despite having half of the population of Xi'an.

The Guardian reported that in the following weeks, and despite the strict supervision on China’s social media, Xi’an residents expressed their grievances with the lockdown in online platforms such as Weibo.

Their main complaints involved food shortages and fatal hospital delays. CNN reported a heavily pregnant woman waiting to be attended at Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital was turned away on New Year’s Eve for not having a Covid-19 test.

The woman lost her baby, causing outrage on social media. The hospital staff told CNN that they initially rejected the pregnant woman in accordance with government protocols.

The BBC painted a grim picture: locals received meals through volunteers, but apparently this wasn't enough for everyone. Those who ran low on supplies bartered their belongings for food.

Another case, reported by The New York Times, was a young man beat up by two community guards after being caught breaking the lockdown. The young man claimed that he had spent several days without food.

The “Covid Army” is not only made up of officers and bureaucrats but also of internet users who quickly lash out against critical voices. Of course, internet censorship isn't novel in China, where something as innocuous as Winnie The Pooh images can land you in major problems.

Many of these online criticisms were deleted from social media or suffocated in an avalanche of comments apologetic to China’s government and its policies.

Meanwhile, over 40,000 Xi’an residents were forced to move to quarantine facilities.

“For the officials, virus control comes first. The people’s lives, well-being, and dignity come much later,” writes Li Yuan, a correspondent for The New York Times in China.

Some low-level Xi’an government officials were dismissed from their positions, including the general manager of the Gaoxin Hospital.

The head of the city’s health commission formally apologized to the woman who suffered the miscarriage. Online comments picked up by The New York Times lamented that a few public workers were scapegoated while those behind the policies remained safe.

After a few weeks of strict lockdown, Covid-19 cases in the city dropped to a minimum. The government allowed external communication and everyday life to slowly resume in Xi'an.

One can’t deny China's measures have been effective, particularly in comparison to some blunders made in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries while dealing with the virus.

However, the question remains when dealing with something like the Omicron variant, where it’s more or less expected that a large number of the population will get it sooner or later.

Some fear that China's Zero Covid Policy might be an obstacle to achieving endemicity, which would make the virus a weak but constant nuisance in everyday life.

Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for Global Health, argues to CNN that the limitations of the Zero Covid-19 Policy become evident when dealing with something like the Omicron variant.

“China is not epidemiologically or psychologically ready for the Omicron variant,” Huang said to CNN. “The problem is we don't know whether it can still be effective in dealing with more transmissible variants.”

“The unhappiness is going to grow significantly at a national level, as well as the difficulty of implementing this strategy,” concludes Huang.

Beijing is now the focus of a new Covid-19 outbreak. The city has a population of over 21 million.

Beijing is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in February, which means hundreds of people from abroad will come to the city.

BBC correspondent Stephen McDonnell commented that the Beijing of 2022 is very different from the one in 2008.

“The only foreigners here for the event are those participating or working there and all they will see of Beijing is whatever there is to see inside a giant Covid-protection bubble”, writes McDonnell, weeks prior to the event.

Pictured: Officials in the Beijing International Airport waiting to validate Olympic accreditations.

New restrictions and massive Covid-19 tests now define life in some of the districts of China’s capital.

The Beijing Winter Olympics, without a doubt, will be an interesting challenge for China's “Covid Army.” One that could redefine the country's coronavirus strategy.