China’s new move could kill 2.1 million in Covid catastrophe
China is facing up to 2.1 million deaths in the coming months after President Xi Jinping abandoned his disastrous “Zero Covid” policy, new analysis shows.
The catastrophic scenario could leave the Chinese leader confronting a “perfect storm” of mounting difficulties and a “revolutionary moment” that may spell the end of his rule, says one expert.
The US Sun reports the draconian Zero Covid policy saw the population forced to take continual tests for coronavirus and millions put into lockdown, even if only a small number of people were testing positive.
Horror images showed those infected being dragged off to quarantine camps and even welded into their homes by brutal “Big White” enforcers.
But a wave of protests following a fire in which the deaths of 10 people were blamed on the harsh lockdown led to Xi dramatically ditching “Zero Covid”.
China is now bracing itself for the spread of the virus in a population with catastrophically low levels of immunity and vaccination.
According to a forecast by health data analysts Airfinity, the country now faces between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths between now and the end of March.
China’s shift away from its Zero Covid strategy could have catastrophically deadly results, the report warns. Picture: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
President Xi Jinping dramatically ditched ‘Zero Covid’ after waves of protests against the country’s brutal cocornavirus restrictions. Picture: Bandar al-Jaloud/AFP
They have used what happened in Hong Kong, where a Zero Covid approach was pursued before a wave of infections swept through the population – who had a low vaccine uptake – in February, as the basis for their prediction.
“Our analysis shows if mainland China sees a similar wave to Hong Kong’s in February, its healthcare system could be pushed to capacity as there could be between 167 and 279 million cases nationwide, which could lead to between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths,” an Airfinity spokesowman said.
In this scenario, China could see the deaths occur “over the next three months”.
“Our analysis suggests deaths could peak in January while cases may peak late December,” the spokeswoman said.
The data was produced before the decision was made to scrap Zero Covid on December 7 but “the figures still stand”, she said.
As recently as October, Xi was touting the policy as a “people’s war” against Covid that would set China apart from the rest of the world.
Former diplomat and China expert Roger Garside said the potential deaths present a threat to Xi’s rule, given how closely he has been associated with it.
“The recent protests show that people are fed up with the Communist Party and have lost their respect for the competence of the party,” said Mr Garside, author of China Coup: the Great Leap to Freedom.