China’s rapid retreat from many restrictions related to Corona has, surprisingly and unexpectedly, revealed a set of new economic challenges for the country.
Over the past two weeks, the Chinese authorities have eased many measures that forced many people to stay at home, as well as companies to work remotely. The government announced that a negative test for the virus was no longer necessary for domestic travel.
However, new reports have been issued, showing an increase in corona infections. And Beijing announced that, on Sunday, fever clinics witnessed 22,000 visits, an increase of 16 times over last week.
Gang Yu, co-founder and CEO of 111, which specializes in selling medicines and healthcare services online, told Xinhua.CNBC“Since late November, orders for fever-reducing and coronavirus-related drugs have increased tenfold,” he said.
He pointed out, “There is a shortage of medicines, and the factories cannot keep up with the situation, a situation that is expected to continue for at least another three or four weeks.”
In addition to the high demand for these drugs, dozens of workers in 111 warehouses and offices in various parts of China tested positive for coronavirus, which caused a “staff shortage,” according to Yu.
As of Sunday, the China Post Agency said more than 400 distribution points in Beijing and other parts of the country remained closed for reasons related to the coronavirus.
And she explained, on Tuesday, that she collects more than 360 million parcels per day.
Chinese economist Ting Lu said in a report Thursday that “over the past two weeks, the Chinese government has abruptly ended its anti-Corona policies and abandoned most of the local prevention measures.” Analysts considered that the rapid increase in the number of infections in major Chinese cities may be “The beginning of a huge wave of corona infection,” according to what was reported by CNBC.
Expectations prevail that the main indicators of economic activity will remain weak and decline further in December. The report also indicates that “visits to China during the New Year holidays may lead to an unprecedented spread of the Corona virus, and severe disruptions to the economy.”
On Thursday, China recorded a worse-than-expected decline in retail sales in November, as well as slowing growth in industrial production and investment.
Archyde.com reported, quoting the National Health Committee, on Friday, that China recorded 2,157 new infections with symptoms of coronavirus on December 15, compared to 2,000 the previous day.
Excluding imported cases, China recorded 2,091 local infections that showed symptoms, up from 1,944 the previous day.
And China stopped monitoring asymptomatic injuries on Wednesday, noting the lack of examinations among the infected without symptoms, which makes it difficult to accurately determine the total outcome.
China did not record new deaths, keeping the death toll at 5,235.
As of December 15, China had recorded 374,075 confirmed cases of coronavirus with symptoms.
And Archyde.com reported that the Chinese people celebrated, on Tuesday, the withdrawal of a state-run application used to track travel to Corona-stricken areas, in the latest easing of some of the most stringent anti-virus measures in the world, according to a Archyde.com report.
After the Chinese authorities deactivated the “flight code” app at midnight on Monday, four Chinese telecom companies said they would delete user data associated with the app.
Netizens welcomed the withdrawal of the app, which has been criticized for its possible use in mass surveillance.
“Goodbye (app) flight code, I hope to never see you again,” said a post on the social media platform Weibo.
“The hand that was extended to wield force during the pandemic must now be withdrawn,” another user wrote.
Despite the relief that prevailed in the Chinese street after the government began to back away from its strict strategy known as zero-Covid, there are looming fears that China may pay the price for overprotecting its population of 1.4 billion against the virus.
Some analysts have warned of the possibility of an increase in the number of corona infections during the Chinese New Year holiday next month, during which people travel from all over the country to spend the holiday with their families, which represents a danger to a population that lacks herd immunity and has relatively low vaccination rates among the elderly.
China has closed its borders to international travel since the first case of corona appeared in Wuhan, central China, in late 2019.
International flights are still below the level they were before the pandemic, and arrivals must spend eight days in quarantine.
At a time when there is a state of optimism due to the easing of Corona measures, analysts say that Chinese companies will face difficult days in the coming weeks at a time when a wave of infections leads to a shortage of employees and consumer anxiety.
Experts say China’s fragile healthcare system could quickly collapse if these fears come true.