China, in statistical limbo after the relaxation of anti-Covid restrictions

First modification: 12/09/2022 – 13:24

With our correspondents in Beijing, Stéphane Lagarde and Louise May.

“Beijing kaifengle” (“Beijing is open”), says this test agent, in a white suit, gloves and visor, a bit lost in the face of this general shift in health policy in less than 72 hours, who recalls the decision to close the Chinese borders overnight on March 28, 2020. The removal of checks and restrictions has led to an increase in infections.

“They can’t keep up”

As a consequence, the results of the PCR tests in this still-open diagnostic center in the Chinese capital are arriving slowly. “I don’t know exactly why, but the results are late. It’s because of the laboratories. There are too many positive cases, they can’t keep up and it’s very slow,” explains the agent.

According to the newspaper in Hebei, the province neighboring the capital, the responses to the tests are slowing down due to the inflation of positive tubes during the collective tests and because the “zero Covid” soldiers are tired and there are no longer enough numbers to go to the door. by door to do test

“Be responsible for your health”

This makes it difficult to read the figures, but it does not prevent humor on social networks: “If you do not know a single positive case, you have to check your social attitude”, or Nno one can escape the two red bars in Baoding, “says a Netizen quoted by sinologist Maya Koetse. The city, 150 kilometers southwest of Beijing, appears completely red on the infection map. “The average temperature today was 38.8 degrees,” writes another netizen, referring to fever due to disease.

“Be responsible for your health,” say the official slogans this time with all seriousness. Neighborhood commissions that used to be alert to the slightest case of contamination now tell those who test positive that they must fend for themselves at home and call 911 if their symptoms worsen. Fortunately, there are videos on social media offering instructions on how to self-test and self-quarantine at home.

The fear of stopping and continuing

If his test is negative, this young computer programmer only dreams of one thing: “All I want is to go home, to my province. But I am afraid that everything will be closed again when I return. With the increase in cases, the Politics is not stable. Today, they say, we open! But tomorrow, if we go back, it will be very difficult for me,” he says.

The fear of medical yo-yos is shared by travelers who can now take the train without having to show a negative test result. In fact, new closures could occur if the health system is overwhelmed in a few weeks by the strongest epidemic wave that China has experienced since the start of the pandemic.