HTLS 2021: Economist Lawrence Summers on 'Chinese approach' to tackle Covid-19
HTLS 2021: Lawrence Summers also expressed apprehension about the travel bans being imposed by various countries in the wake of the emergence of the new variant of coronavirus, named Omicron.
Lawrence H Summers, former Director of White House National Economic Council, was on Wednesday critical of China’s approach to check the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Speaking to Mint editor Sruthijith KK on Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS), Summers said, “Chinese approach of shutting down the country upon discovery of small number of cases maybe setting the state for a very difficult situation.”
“This is because the reservoir of immunity in China behind the near-zero level of cases, rather weak Chinese vaccines and the reluctance to import international vaccines is creating a situation from which exit will be extraordinarily difficult,” he added.
He also expressed apprehension about the travel bans being imposed by various countries in the wake of the emergence of the new variant of coronavirus, named Omicron.
“Restrictions on mobility are transient in their ultimate impact. Success depends on getting jabs into arms, masks onto faces and tests into noses,” said Summers.
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China has maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards Covid-19, saying the importance of containing local cases when they are found outweighs the disruptions caused by efforts to trace, isolate and treat the infected.
China reported close to two dozen cases on an average in the last week.
A study conducted by the mathematicians of Peking University supported China’s zero-tolerance policy, claiming that the country could face more than 630,000 Covid-19 infections a day if it lifts travel curbs.
In the report published in China CDC Weekly by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention last week, the mathematicians said that China could not afford to lift travel restrictions without more efficient vaccinations or specific treatments.
Using data for August from the United States, Britain, Spain, France and Israel, the mathematicians assessed the potential results if China adopted the same pandemic control tactics as those countries.
China's daily new cases would reach at least 637,155 if it adopted the United States' pandemic strategy, the report said. And daily cases would hit 275,793 if China took the same approach as Britain and 454,198 if it imitated France, it added.
