Beijing Insists on Zero-COVID Policy but Blames Local Governments for Excessive Measures

People line up for nucleic acid testing at a residential block during a citywide COVID-19 nucleic acid testing campaign in Shanghai, China on April 1, 2022. Zhang Suoqing/VCG via Getty Images

In a press conference on Friday, the Chinese Health Commission insisted the country’s zero-COVID policy is an effective and economic measure for pandemic containment. The officials also blamed local governments such as Zhengzhou for unscientific measures that hurt the economy and frustrated the public.

On Nov. 5, the Health Commission emphasized sticking with the policy to prevent imported cases and recurrence of the domestic cases, and claimed the policy is the “accurate” way to deal with the pandemic.

Blaming Local Governments

In answering press questions on complaints posed by the populace during the implementation of the zero-COVID policy, the officials named Zhengzhou, in central China Henan Province, as the city that received the most criticism for its arbitrary travel restrictions and lockdowns.