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 To stop local cases from turning into wider outbreaks, China has
developed and continually refined its COVID-fighting arsenal --
including mass testing, targeted lockdowns and travel restrictions -
even when those anti-COVID measures occasionally disrupted local
economies.
"The policy (in China) will remain for a long time," Zhong Nanshan,
a respiratory disease expert who helped formulate China's COVID
strategy in early 2020, told state media.
"How long it will last depends on the virus-control situation
worldwide."
In a major outbreak in July-August, China counted a total of over
1,200 local symptomatic infections. In the latest flare-up, mostly
in northern China, some 538 local cases were reported between Oct.
17 and Nov. 1.
Despite the lower caseload, the geographical spread of the
infections has put constraints on China's leisure and tourism
sectors.
Since Oct. 23, travel agencies have not been allowed to organise
tourism between certain provinces, with such restrictions affecting
trips to nearly one-third of the mainland's 31 province-level
regions including Beijing.
Many cities with infections have also closed indoor entertainment
and cultural venues. A flurry of marathons, theatrical performances
and concerts have been delayed or cancelled.
China also requires weeks of quarantine for most travellers arriving
from abroad.
In contrast, some Asia-Pacific countries are starting to open
selectively to fully vaccinated international travellers as they
seek to secure a more normal footing for their economies and
societies.
Graphic: Northern Chinese cities fighting local COVID-19 infections
since mid-October
https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CHINA/
gkplgxygmvb/chart.png
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 ANOTHER YEAR?
The successful containment of clusters and
popular support for restricting international
travel make it overwhelmingly likely that China
will stick to its zero tolerance towards
domestic cases for at least another year,
Gavekal Dragonomics analyst Ernan Cui said in a
note.
"Officials seem to believe that giving up on the
zero-tolerance approach would just replace one
set of problems with another," wrote Cui.
Respiratory disease expert Zhong told state media CGTN that the
current 2% death rate of the disease globally, despite vaccination,
is not tolerable in China.
"Zero tolerance costs a lot indeed, but letting the virus spread
costs more," Zhong said.
Some countries had loosened curbs while still reporting some small
clusters, leading to a new series of infections that have since
forced them to backpedal again, Zhong said.
Such back-and-forth in policy costs more, and has a greater impact
on the public, he warned.
The cost of treating COVID patients - on average 20,000 yuan each
and sometimes over 1 million yuan for those critically ill -
totalled 2.8 billion yuan ($438 million) as of end-June, all paid by
the government, state television said in August.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo, Roxanne Liu and Liangping Gao; Editing by
Kim Coghill and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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