Expectation Of Lockdown In China in 2023

Xian will lock down areas and shut schools if an outbreak poses a severe threat, according to an emergency response plan published on Wednesday.

Many internet users have called the plan excessive, especially after criticism of Chinas Covid controls.

Flu cases have surged across China just as its latest Covid wave is waning. The spike in flu cases has also led to a shortage of antiviral medication at pharmacies across the country.

While there is no suggestion of an imminent lockdown in Xian, some have expressed fears that its plan could see a return to the zero-Covid approach, which the country abruptly abandoned in December.

PLAN EXPECTED TO BE IMPLEMENTED

• Xian’s plan segments its response into four levels, according to severity of the situation.
• Lockdowns may be called for when community spread reaches an acute level.
• It is not the only Chinese city that has such emergency plans.
• In 2015, for instance, the Shanghai government said it may stop classes and work, as well as set restrictions on gatherings, in the event of a serious influenza pandemic.
• To local residents who were traumatised by the lockdown measures not long ago, the return to the same draconian method in coping with flu outbreaks is by no means justified, Huang Yangzhou.