"China Likely to Strengthen 'Zero COVID' Policy Amid Omicron Pandemic"

(Photo by CNBC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As the spread of Omicron rapidly accelerates, China is expected to further strengthen its 'Zero COVID' policy, which goes against the international community's trend of 'With COVID' (gradual return to normal life), CNBC, a U.S. economic media outlet, reported on the 28th (local time).

Helen Zhu, Executive Director of Nanfeng Trinity, an investment firm based in Hong Kong, told CNBC on the same day, "China, which has locked down tightly in response to the Omicron spread, is likely to continue its isolation policy."

Morgan Stanley also stated in a report on the same day that the emergence of the Omicron variant could delay the reopening of not only China but also Hong Kong and Taiwan.

They added, "These economies have mostly maintained a Zero COVID strategy," and analyzed, "The emergence of the new variant delays the transition to new quarantine policies that ease lockdowns, which could also postpone the recovery timing of private consumption."

CNBC further noted that as part of Zero COVID, China has been strengthening quarantine procedures such as monitoring ships and cargo at all ports within the country or closing some ports, negatively impacting global import and export companies.

China has adhered to a closed quarantine policy that locks down all neighboring areas whenever a COVID-19 case is detected.

On the 24th, the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) released research results from a team at Peking University, which showed that if a With COVID policy easing lockdowns were introduced, there could be up to 637,155 confirmed cases per day.

They emphasized, "With COVID assumes herd immunity through vaccination, and without confidence in vaccine efficacy or treatment methods, there is no room to accept an opening strategy."