China’s rapid withdrawal from many Corona-related restrictions has, surprisingly and unexpectedly, revealed a number of new economic challenges for the country.
In the past two weeks, the Chinese authorities have relaxed many measures that have forced many people to stay at home, as well as companies to work remotely. The government announced that a negative test for the virus was no longer required for domestic travel.
However, new reports have been issued showing an increase in corona infections. And Beijing announced that fever clinics saw 22,000 visits on Sunday, a 16-fold increase from last week.
Gang Yu, co-founder and CEO of 111, which specializes in selling medicines and health services online, told Xinhua.CNBC“Since the end of November, orders for fever-reducing and coronavirus-related drugs have increased tenfold,” he said.
He stressed: “There is a shortage of medicines and the factories cannot keep up with the situation, a situation that is expected to continue for at least another three to four weeks.”
In addition to the high demand for these drugs, dozens of workers in warehouses and 911 offices in various parts of China have tested positive for the coronavirus, which has caused a “staff shortage,” according to Yu.
As of Sunday, the China Post agency said more than 400 distribution points in Beijing and other parts of the country remained closed for reasons related to the coronavirus.
And he explained on Tuesday that he collects more than 360 million parcels a day.
Chinese economist Ting Lu said in a report on Thursday that “in the past two weeks, the Chinese government has abruptly halted its anti-Corona policies and abandoned most of the local preventive measures.” major Chinese cities could be “the start of a huge wave of corona infection,” CNBC reported.
Expectations prevail that leading indicators of economic activity will remain weak and decline further in December. The report also indicates that “visits to China during the New Year holidays can lead to an unprecedented spread of the Corona virus and serious disruptions to the economy.”
On Thursday, China recorded a worse-than-expected drop in retail sales in November, as well as slowing growth in industrial production and investment.
Reuters reported, citing the National Health Committee on Friday, that China recorded 2,157 new infections with coronavirus symptoms on Dec. 15, up from 2,000 the day before.
Excluding imported cases, China recorded 2,091 local infections showing symptoms, up from 1,944 a day earlier.
And China halted monitoring of asymptomatic lesions on Wednesday, noting a lack of testing among those infected without symptoms, making it difficult to accurately determine the total outcome.
China has recorded no new deaths, keeping the death toll at 5,235.
As of December 15, China had recorded 374,075 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with symptoms.
And Reuters reported that Chinese people celebrated the withdrawal of a state application used to track travel to Corona-hit areas on Tuesday, in the latest easing of some of the toughest anti-virus measures in the world, according to a Reuters report.
After Chinese authorities deactivated the “flight code” app at midnight on Monday, four Chinese telecom companies said they would delete user data associated with the app.
Netizens have welcomed the withdrawal of the app, which has been criticized for its possible use in mass surveillance.
“Goodbye (app) flight code, hope I never see you again,” said a post on social media platform Weibo.
“The hand that was extended to exert force during the pandemic must now be withdrawn,” another user wrote.
Despite the relief that has prevailed on China’s streets after the government began backing away from its stringent strategy known as Covid-zero, there are looming fears that China may pay the price for overprotecting its 1.4-year-old population. billions against the virus.
Some analysts have warned of the possibility of an increase in the number of corona infections during the Chinese New Year holiday next month, during which people travel from all over the country to spend the holidays with their families, which poses a danger to a population that lacks herd immunity and has relatively low vaccination rates among the elderly.
China has closed its borders to international travel since the first corona case appeared in Wuhan, central China, in late 2019.
International flights are still below their pre-pandemic level and arrivals have to spend eight days in quarantine.
At a time when there is a state of optimism due to the easing of Corona measures, analysts say Chinese companies will face difficult days in the coming weeks at a time when a surge in infections leads to an employee shortage and consumer anxiety.
Experts say China’s fragile healthcare system could collapse quickly if these fears are realized.
