In China, Australia, Vietnam… What results after implementing a” zero covid ” strategy?

To overcome the pandemic of Covid-19, Many countries, especially in Southeast Asia and Oceania, have pursued an aggressive health policy aimed at eradicating the virus from their territory. A strategy that was initially paid for but then undermined by more infectious types justifies abandoning this so-called “zero covid” policy.

► Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, undeniable

From March 2020, the China Not dissimilar from his strategy: Big remedies for big evils. With the emergence of a pandemic outbreak, authorities impose strict and sometimes very long lockdowns, Lifted on January 24 in Xi’an, Home to 13 million people more than a month after its founding. The virus would have infected only 2,000 people in the former imperial capital.

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China, in the lap of Hong Kong and its pro-Beijing government, is also pursuing its aggressive health policy to curb pollution. But in the former British colony, the Omicron variant “Gave a heavy blow (…) And exceeded the management capacity of the city”​, Agreed on Sunday, February 13, the head of the government, Carrie Lam. The hospital system is overwhelmed by the influx of people infected with the virus, because even asymptomatic people in Hong Kong are forced to go through the hospital. And 90% of the city’s intensive care beds are occupied.

Finally, neighboring island Taiwan Maintains a” zero covid ” curriculum, although the Omicron variant raises some questions. However, the rules of enforcement have never been as strict there as in its neighbours, with authorities preferring to rely on contact tracing and tracing, rather than the strict lockdown in place in China.

► Australia, New Zealand: opening since vaccines arrived

The two island states have the geography to ally in their “zero covid” strategy. Using the ease of closing their borders, the two countries set out brief and localized lockdowns, as of March 2020, to “break” the formation of pollution, while vaccines are being developed. The two Oceanian neighbors rely on – successfully – tracing policies to prevent the spread of the virus.

It’s’Australia New Zealand has been gradually reopening its borders and easing restrictions since late last year, when vaccination rates were deemed high enough. But the emergence of the Omicron variant is easing restrictions and several cases found in New Zealand have been recorded, recording 1,796 new infections on Sunday, February 13.

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“We are entering for the first time since the outbreak began, two years ago, a time when New Zealanders are seeing more covid in the community”, Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, February 14, without announcing a tightening of health rules.

► Vietnam, a handout to save the economy

With the emergence of the pandemic, the Vietnam It took a more difficult approach to avert a health disaster, passing off the elimination of pandemic outbreaks one by one. Except that the pandemic Delta variant has changed the game more than the original strain. In July 2021, despite significant restrictions and the use of the military to enforce them (especially in the capital of Ho Chi Minh City), the number of deaths exploded.

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After all, the Vietnamese economy has sunk. Growth in Dragon country, one of the most dynamic in the last three decades, increased from 7% to 2% between 2019 and 2021. “We cannot resort to quarantine and containment measures forever because it will cause difficulties for people and the economy”, Prime minister Pham Minh Sinh was acting in October 2021.

► In Singapore, focus on vaccines

With more than 85% of its population vaccinated, the Asian city-state has gradually eased bans on people. Last year, the “zero covid” strategy did not allow authorities to control the outbreak of pollution, prompting Task force, Responsible for the fight against the disease to determine in favor of coexistence with the virus. Despite a strong surge in the Omicron variant in recent weeks, the country has reopened to travelers from about fifteen countries.