Abstract
By presenting three most representative cases in navigation through and battling against the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter unearths the social conditions of the two most prominent pandemic control approaches, namely, zero COVID strategy and “live with COVID,” and compare their effectiveness. China, with its ability of mass testing, social mobilization, and big data tracing, proved the effectiveness of zero COVID strategy in suppressing the virus spread in the first two year of the pandemic. However, the same zero COVID strategy posed considerable challenges to China’s economy and social normalization when the Omicron variant became the dominant variant. Singapore imitated China’s zero COVID but quickly switched to live with COVID, becoming model for many countries in ending restrictions to resume economy and social lives. The outbreak of the fifth wave of pandemic in Hong Kong demonstrates the difficulty of attempting to apply the China-style zero COVID strategy when China’s social conditions were missing. This chapter is thus a comprehensive and upfront study of the two pandemic control approaches.
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Notes
- 1.
Xing et al. (2020).
- 2.
Guo (2021).
- 3.
Wong, Chaw, et al. (2020, October 7).
- 4.
Al Kuwari et al. (2020).
- 5.
“Active Epidemiological Investigation on SARS-CoV-2 Infection Caused by Omicron Variant (Pango Lineage B.1.1.529) in Japan: Preliminary Report on Infectious Period” (Japan: National Institute of Infectious Diseases Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, January 5, 2022), https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e/10884-covid19-66-en.html.
- 6.
Weixin (2022, March 14).
- 7.
Tencent (2022).
- 8.
Chen et al. (2020).
- 9.
Wang (2020).
- 10.
China.org.cn (2014). The translation of “网格化” is “networked” by China.org.cn, but “grid” by LawinfoChina, a Peking University-based database dedicated to translations of legal documents in China. This chapter uses “grid.” Readers, however, should note that “networked” and “grid” are used interchangeably regarding this research topic.
- 11.
Guanghan.gov.cn (2022).
- 12.
Xiao (2022).
- 13.
Li and Guo (2022).
- 14.
Xiao (2022).
- 15.
Wenzhou xinwen (2021).
- 16.
Liu (2022).
- 17.
Linghu (2022).
- 18.
Paper.cn (2021, August 12).
- 19.
DW News (2022).
- 20.
DW News (2022).
- 21.
Weixin (2022, April 2).
- 22.
Yan et al. (2020).
- 23.
Gov.sg (2020, April 11).
- 24.
Gov.sg (2020, April 21).
- 25.
Ministry of Health (n.d.-b).
- 26.
Gov.sg (2020, December 23).
- 27.
Gov.uk (2021, December 8).
- 28.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2022, August 31).
- 29.
ChannelNewsAsia (2021, February 17).
- 30.
Our world in data.
- 31.
NBD (2021).
- 32.
Paper.cn (2021, March 31).
- 33.
Huang and Feng (2021).
- 34.
For example, see 163 (2021).
- 35.
Poa (2022).
- 36.
Co (2021).
- 37.
National University of Singapore (2021).
- 38.
National University of Singapore (2022).
- 39.
Singapore Management University (2022).
- 40.
Ministry of Manpower (2022).
- 41.
NDTV (2021).
- 42.
Gan et al. (2021).
- 43.
Prime Minister’s Office Singapore (2021, October 9).
- 44.
Prime Minister’s Office Singapore (2021, October 9).
- 45.
Chen (2022).
- 46.
Baharudin (2021).
- 47.
Teo (2021).
- 48.
Gov.sg (2022, January 21).
- 49.
The Pioneer (2021).
- 50.
Ministry of Health (n.d.-a).
- 51.
Ministry of Health (2022).
- 52.
Prime Minister’s Office Singapore (2022, March 24).
- 53.
Cheng and Cheung (2022).
- 54.
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China (2022).
- 55.
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China (2022).
- 56.
Hassan (2022).
- 57.
Wain et al. (2022).
- 58.
Hassan (2022).
- 59.
Schnirring and Soucheray (2022).
- 60.
Our World in Data.
- 61.
Xinhua (2022).
- 62.
Wenweipo (2022).
- 63.
Wenweipo (2022).
- 64.
Wenweipo (2022).
- 65.
Taylor (2022).
- 66.
Taylor (2022).
- 67.
Davidson (2022).
- 68.
Davidson (2022).
- 69.
Yeo and Ng (2022).
- 70.
Mahtani and Yu (2022).
- 71.
Hong Kong Free Press (2022, March 17).
- 72.
Hong Kong Free Press (2022, February 22).
- 73.
Cheung (2022).
- 74.
Khan (2022).
- 75.
Das (2022).
- 76.
Einhorn (2022).
- 77.
Our World in Data.
- 78.
“News at a Glance: Hong Kong’s High COVID-19 Death Rate, Biden’s ‘Test and Treat,’ and a ResearchGate Lawsuit,” March 10, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adb1942.
- 79.
Silver (2022).
- 80.
Tsang (2022).
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- 82.
Marlow and Tam (2021).
- 83.
Hartley and Jarvis (2020).
- 84.
- 85.
Chan (2021).
- 86.
Au (2022).
- 87.
The Singapore government launched the mass vaccination programme in late 2020, while Hong Kong only rolled out it vaccination programme in late February 2021. Davidson (2021).
- 88.
Davidson (2021).
- 89.
The University of Hong Kong (2022).
- 90.
Xie (2022).
- 91.
Interview with authors.
- 92.
France 24 (2021, August 29).
- 93.
France 24 (2021, September 10).
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Reuters (2021).
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Pannett (2021).
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Li et al. (2022).
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New York Post (2020).
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“Rhode Island Begins Door to Door Checks for New Yorkers Fleeing Coronavirus.”
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Singman (2020).
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Chung (2022).
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Shepherd (2022).
- 102.
Hancock (2022).
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Prime Minister’s Office Singapore (2021, November 17).
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Abdullah and Kim (2020).
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Business Standard (2022).
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Our World in Data.
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Gorny et al. (2021).
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“COVID-19 Statistics.”
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“PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2021.”
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“Update on the COVID-19 Situation in Singapore by PM Lee Hsien Loong on 9 October 2021.”
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“Update on the COVID-19 Situation in Singapore by PM Lee Hsien Loong on 9 October 2021.”
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“Further Easing of Community and Border Measures.”
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“Further Easing of Community and Border Measures.”
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Our World in Data.
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Wong, Kwok et al. (2020, May 11).
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Zheng et al. (2021).
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Wong et al. (2021, November 25).
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The Standard (2022).
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Riordan and Lin (2020).
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“HKU Vaccine Pass.”
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Xie, “Learning from Hong Kong, China Targets Elderly in Covid-19 Vaccine Drive.”
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Xinmin (2022).
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Zhao, S.X.B., Yan, B., Chen, Y. (2023). Between Zero COVID and “Live with COVID:” Comparative Studies in Pandemic Control Policies of China, Singapore, and Hong Kong at the Stage of Omicron. In: Zhao, S.X.B., Chan, K.T., Çolakoğlu, S., Zhang, Q., Yan, B. (eds) Comparative Studies on Pandemic Control Policies and the Resilience of Society. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9993-2_2
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