China announces flu lockdown plans: Officials spark fury by warning areas could be closed to stem outbreaks of common virus

Chinese officials are looking into lockdowns to fight the flu, angering many at the prospect of a return to the severe restrictions seen during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The city of Xi’an, in central China’s Shaanxi province, said it could impose lockdowns “if necessary” if an outbreak of the common flu virus posed a “serious threat”.

The city’s contingency plan, released on Wednesday, aims to tackle the increasing number of flu cases in the country as Covid-19 cases continue to decline.

Authorities in the Chinese city have not indicated that a new round of restrictions is imminent, but local residents in the area still called the plans excessive.

China’s zero-Covid lockdown plans were implemented across the country during the pandemic and are considered extreme by many.

Residents undergo a swab test in a residential area closed due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing on November 29, 2022

Xi’an local government’s plan envisages four stages of the flu outbreak. If the general virus were to reach critically high levels, new restrictions would likely be imposed.

Chinese residents were not allowed to leave their homes during the pandemic. Some were not even allowed to shop for groceries or essentials.

The city of Xi’an was placed under one of the strictest lockdown measures by authorities until restrictions were quickly eased in December last year following major unrest across the country.

Reacting to the prospect of a return to forced lockdowns, social media users in China using Weibo said the common flu was a normal virus and no lockdown measures were needed before Covid.

The BBC reported that one user said “life went on as usual” when the flu broke out.

Another said China’s local governments had become “addicted to sealing and control”.

Speaking to the BBC, Huang Yanzhong, senior fellow in global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said: “To the locals who were traumatized by the lockdown measures not long ago, there is absolutely no justification for returning to the same draconian method to deal with flu outbreaks.’

Others urged caution, thinking a return to strict lockdown was unlikely.

Medical personnel in white hazmat suits walk on the street in Shanghai, China, January 2021

Professor Tang Renwu, of the School of Government at Beijing Normal University, told the Lianhe Zaobao newspaper in Singapore that he expects more local governments to reveal plans for possible flu outbreaks in the coming days.

Prof Tang said, “Local governments should pay attention to their wording when issuing similar documents, so as not to cause social panic.

Despite the strict restrictions imposed across China during the Covid-19 pandemic, this was not the first time such restrictions were planned.

In 2015, the Shanghai government said it would limit gatherings and recall students from school and people from work if common flu became a serious threat.