Over the past two years, the COVID Pandemic has changed the lives of many people all over the world. Even seeing people smile has only recently been allowed as mask mandates disappear.
In the United States, the actions taken by our government seemed to be pretty relaxed. Former President Trump chalked it up to some common cold and refused to take any major action.
Unfortunately, such ill-advised actions have led to the death of almost a million Americans with 80 million more cases. In other parts of the world, more sane leaders have imposed lockdowns, keeping citizens isolated to avoid further contamination.
For example, Italy re-tooled the police force to help deliver food and medicine to citizens that we isolated to ensure that the risk of spread was minimized. Such actions have been largely praised by the international community.
In China, however, actions taken to curb the spread seem to border on too much. If the United States, under Trump, represents too little action, then China seems to represent too much action.
Shanghai
In China, the government shut down all but essential businesses to curb the spread of COVID. Even during the Olympics, the prevention efforts were seen as largely a success.
To the rest of the world, China seemed to be doing great. The citizens of Shanghai beg to differ.
The forced lockdown left several starving as a lack of food supply meant only the important elites could eat. Some even tried to test positive to not be separated from family.
It seemed like those in Shanghai were being held prisoner in their own city.
To many, this is no surprise as the Chinese government has a history of shutdowns aimed to suppress protests. This time, it was aimed to shut down the spread of a deadly disease.
China’s zero COVID policy seemed to backfire as the highly transmittable disease overburdened Chinese officials which led to more problems with the management of the lockdowns.
What seemed like an appropriate response at the beginning of the pandemic now seems like another overreaction by the authoritarian regime. Hopefully, they ease up on their actions and maintain a safe environment for their citizens.
Tune into The Roundup for more international news!
Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas offers young men an excellent, Catholic education in the classical Jesuit tradition with the purpose of forming a community of men with high moral principles and service to others.