China’s Zero COVID Strategy – Will It Work With Omicron

Table of Contents

What is Zero Covid Strategy?

The Zero-COVID strategy is predicated on a series of measures, including continuing stringent restrictions on international travel, mass testing, contact tracing every case, targeted lockdowns, and quarantining of close contacts usually in central facilities until an outbreak is completely controlled and cases are brought to zero.
After Australia, Singapore and New Zealand last year loosened restrictions and opened up to the world, the Zero-COVID approach is currently only being followed on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In China, Hong Kong & Taiwan, the Zero-COVID approach over the past two years has limited the number of total cases and enabled all three to avoid a major second wave, as was seen around the world.
The strategy has, however, meant continued isolation from the rest of the world with restrictions on international travel as well requiring foreign arrivals to undergo mandatory quarantine in Government-designated facilities.

Zero Covid approach helped limiting the Delta outbreaks.
In December 2021, Xian in northwestern Shaanxi province reported the biggest spread of any city in China since Wuhan in early 2020, with more than 2,000 cases attributed to the Xian cluster to the Delta variant.
Xian was completely lockdown, starting December 23. It eventually brought down the cases to only a dozen after the second week of January 2022.

The more transmissible Omicron variant, has now challenged the Zero-COVID playbook in China.
In January 2022, both Tianjin in China and Hong Kong reported Omicron cases in which the chain of transmission could not be determined eventually…!!

With Omicron leak in few cities, can zero covid strategy still work?
In China, 85% of the population has been fully vaccinated while close to 25% have been given a booster. Can they let their guard down?
If they let their guard down, will hospitals in China be overrun with Omicron?
What about the winter Olympics in February 2022 in China? There is also a CCP congress in October 2022?