Yang Danxu, Beijing correspondent

yangdx@sph.com.sg

the epidemic of coronary disease in China has heated up rapidly after the 20th CPC National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with more than 8,000 new local infections in a single day. The number of new infections in the capital Beijing rose to a new high in more than five months; in Guangdong, where the epidemic is the most severe, a new administrative region has been sealed and controlled.

The interviewed scholars concluded that the epidemic that broke out in autumn and winter has put China's "dynamic zero" policy under new pressure, which will also slow down the pace of official relaxation of epidemic control.

According to data from the National Health Commission, 8,176 new local infections were added in China on Tuesday (November 8), setting a new one-day high after the 20th CPC National Congress.

The number of infections in Beijing has risen rapidly in the past few days, and 80 new local infections were added on Tuesday, a one-day high since late May this year.

From 0:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 57 new local infections were added in Beijing, involving 10 administrative districts, four of whom were social screening personnel, showing that strict controls still could not stop the virus from spreading in the community.

Xu Hejian, spokesperson of the Beijing Municipal Government, emphasized at the press conference on Wednesday that the epidemic prevention and control situation in the capital is severe and complicated. "The more the epidemic is tight, the more you must do your own protection. You should not relax your vigilance, and you should not lie down.".

Some outpatient clinics, shopping malls, scenic spots, etc. in many hospitals in Beijing were temporarily closed under the epidemic. According to "Jiemian News", the flight steward application software showed that as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Beijing Capital Airport had cancelled 718 flights on the same day, with a cancellation rate of 75%. Daxing Airport cancelled 767 flights, with a cancellation rate of 86%.

Guangzhou, the city with the most severe epidemic this round, added more than 2,600 local infections on Tuesday. Liwan District of Guangzhou has implemented comprehensive social control since Wednesday morning, requiring strict control of the personal flow. In principle, people do not need to go out.

This is the second district in Guangzhou to implement comprehensive social control after Haizhu District. Previously, most of the new cases in Guangzhou were gathered in Haizhu District. Haizhu District has been closed since November 5, and announced on the 7th that it will be extended for four days to 24:00 on the 11th.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport also cancelled 1,163 flights that day, with a cancellation rate of 89 percent.

The 20th CPC National Congress held last month was once seen as a turning point in China's epidemic prevention policy changes, but the 20th CPC National Congress ended more than two weeks ago, and officials have not released a signal to ease controls.

A new round of epidemic outbreaks at multiple points in the winter

Tang Renwu, dean of the Institute of Government Management at Beijing Normal University, told Lianhe Zaobao in an interview: "Entering the winter, a new round of epidemic outbreaks at multiple points, with more uncertainties... Previously, I hoped to see the relaxation of epidemic prevention after the 20th CPC National Congress, but now it will be even more distant."

The ongoing high-pressure epidemic prevention has caused serious disruptions to China's social economy. Yao Wei, chief economist for Asia Pacific and China at Societe Generale, said on the Bloomberg TV program that there have been more rumors than actual changes so far.

"The epidemic is starting to overwhelm and exhausted local governments in more and more places, and now it's time for the Chinese government to look forward whether it wants to or not," she said.

However, Tang Renwu believes that at present, Chinese society is not ready to relax control and coexist with the virus, unless there is a cure for coronary disease. "Many people still have fears about coronary disease, especially in rural China, and the fear of ordinary people is still very strong," he said.

The Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the matter as saying on the 7th that although the impact of the dynamic clearing policy is intensifying, Chinese officials are still acting cautiously, which means that society still has a long way to go to return to the normal level before the epidemic., a full recovery may have to wait until the end of next year.

Yao Wei predicts that China may loosen the restrictions on epidemic prevention in two forms. One is from the bottom up, and the top level will not make changes in expression, but local governments will relax epidemic prevention after the epidemic cannot be controlled, which is essentially forced to withdraw from the clearing policy. The second is that the central government has accelerated the necessary preparatory measures, including starting to talk about vaccination of vulnerable populations, the carrying capacity of intensive care wards, and making adjustments in publicity to tell the Chinese people not to panic.

Tang Renwu believes that in order to keep the "black gauze hat", local officials will not deviate from the clearing policy for the time being. "Even if the economy and local finances are unsustainable, absolute clearing is still their only goal now."