It’s a hush-hush matter as we all silently blame China for the emergence of the COVID-19 virus. However, it was seen that the country managed it well, but of late, it has been seen that their decision to reopen soon was not taken on a very positive note.
The Chinese media was seen as stating that the decision to open was a well-calculated decision and not an impulsive decision. On the other side, the decision looked like it was a rush decision by the government to kickstart the exit plans before it was too late.
At the onset of winter in December, the decision to reopen came, and it was seen that since the winters were the deadly time to carry on the virus, COVID was seen to spread like a forest fire.
As a result of this, the country opened up, and even though many senior citizens were not vaccinated, pharmaceuticals lacked antivirals. Hospitals didn’t have any staff or supplies to suffice.
The media outraged the government, saying that hundreds and thousands of deaths could have been avoided if these basic precautionary measures had been taken.
Omicron And China :
With China already battling the decision of the sudden reopening, the onset and spread of omicron made things worse. The medical experts and officials of China showed serious concern about the fact that the zero-COVID policy was unsustainable for China.
The Death Numbers :
An expert estimate has shown that about ninety thousand people have died in the high-covid wave in China; however, it is still less in comparison to the western countries.
The doctors say that around two lahks to three lakh deaths could have been avoided if the hospitals had better antivirals and people were vaccinated enough.
It has been seen that the Omicron virus is difficult to curb, and the risk of its spread is doomed in countries like Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
The Harsh Measures :
Officials all over China took to their heels to curb this spread of Omicron. They took various measures, like banning them from roaming the city and imposing an infinite quarantine on traders. And it was in the inner parts of Mongolia that the state-run ammunition factory forced their workers to live in the factory compound for twenty-four hours a day for a week, keeping them away from their families.
A brutal lockdown was seen in Xinjiang, where for over three months the residents starved in their homes. A rare protest was seen in Tibet, where thousands marched forward to defy the laws laid down by the government.
All this was done by the people of China to stand up against their government. COVID-19 was no doubt a troubling time for the whole world. Some dealt with it, and some are still dealing with it. China was seen to play its own politics, and it was recorded that a CDC officer in China stated that all this could have been avoided if there were better facilities and precautions taken.
Now the question is: Is that really the case, or were the officials really that ignorant? We don’t know. But we need to keep this in mind: the risk is still on! We still need to put our masks on and keep our immunity game on.
