They may work, but the cost will be high
frightening outbreak of covid-19 lurks in Harbin, a north-eastern city known for Russian architecture and a winter festival featuring large castles hewn from river ice. Traced to a Chinese student who flew from America in March, the outbreak has pushed the city of 10m back into semi-lockdown, weeks after a first wave of the virus was defeated in Wuhan, far to the south.
The world is familiar by now with China’s approach to virus control, combining brute force with high-tech surveillance and contact tracing. The Harbin lockdown is revealing because it was triggered by such a small cluster. At the time of writing, the city has just 63 confirmed cases of covid-19, plus another 17 asymptomatic cases.
t as close to zero as possible, and will endure pain to achieve that. To date, the world shows little interest in debating the wisdom or folly of that strategy. One cause may be suspicion of China’s numbers. Western politicians call it naive to believe that China has suffered only 84,000 cases to date, and 4,600 deaths. This when Belgium, a country only a bit more populous than Harbin, has reported 7,200 covid deaths.
The Communist Party is a black box. But some incentives that guide its leaders are knowable. For one thing, maintaining order and keeping people safe is the foundation of the social contract between rulers and the masses. That compact wins public support for a fair amount of sacrifice. Should economic woes endure, the party will stoke nationalism, with even more propaganda reports about incompetence and chaos in the democratic West.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China says it 'expelled' U.S. Navy vessel from South China Sea'The provocative actions of the United States seriously violated relevant international law norms,' a spokesman for China's military said.
Read more »
Trump admin asks intel agencies to find out whether China, WHO hid info on coronavirusA specific "tasking" seeking information about the outbreak&39;s early days was sent last week to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The CIA got similar instructions.
Read more »
White House orders intel agencies to investigate China, World Health OrganizationNEW: White House orders intelligence agencies to investigate China, World Health Organization over early coronavirus response— a sign of Pres. Trump's new hard line on China amid questions about his own response to the pandemic.
Read more »
US Navy stages back-to-back challenges to Beijing's South China Sea claimsA United States Navy warship conducted a 'freedom of navigation operation' Wednesday aimed in part at challenging China's claims in the South China Sea, the second such operation in as many days near disputed islands that the US has accused Beijing of militarizing.
Read more »
Exclusive: Trump says China wants him to lose his bid for re-electionPresident Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes China's handling of the coronavirus is proof that Beijing 'will do anything they can' to make him lose his re-election bid in November.
Read more »
China says its manufacturing activity expanded slightly in April, but missed expectationsThe manufacturing data comes as lockdowns and movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus began to ease in China.
Read more »