A few true facts about facing Covid19 in China

Recently, numerous newspapers articles in France or elsewhere, and comments on social networks have relayed a deep anti-Chinese sentiment and cast doubt on the official figures of the epidemic in China, comparing in an absurd way the number of deaths with the country's total size of population.

A great deal of rubbish, stupidity and malice has been and continue to be written, not to mention at times deeply racist comments that are not appropriate at all! Many claim to have the absolute truth or want to rewrite the history, yet little is known about the virus, its origin and the circumstances it has emerged in China.

When France and other European countries begin their un-locking with an unfortunately heavy human toll, I would like here to refer to the situation in Shanghai, where I have been living for almost 4 years, and to the reasons that lead me believe that the official figures, despite probably some under-reporting in the early days of the epidemic in Wuhan, do reflect reality.

With a population of 24 million, Shanghai is the China's largest city, but has been little impacted by the virus: fewer than 350 local infection, and 7 casualties. Since March 2nd, where the last known case of local contamination was reported, the only new cases (just over 300 to date) have all been so-called imported ones, the vast majority of them from Chinese students returning from abroad.

Before I explain how and why the epidemic has been contained, I would like to point out that:

• I have never been confined but could move as I wanted, except for 2 weeks during which I voluntarily accompanied my wife in a forced quarantine when she returned from a short stay in France on March 18th,
• I have been able to come to work at the office every day since February 3rd after the end of the Chinese New Year's holidays,
• after the first 3 weeks of February, when life really slowed down here with many companies and shops closed, the return to normal life started at the end of that month,
• there has been no contamination in my company (BNP Paribas China) among the 500+ employees and their families, who I salute here for their courage, dedication and resilience, and especially my wonderful team of BNP Paribas Securities Services, neither among the companies present in our tower of the World Financial Center in Pudong (the second tallest in Shanghai with nearly 20,000 people working in), nor within my private circle: no positive case in the large community of French expatriates (only 1 friend of mine was very ill in early January after returning from Wuhan, but without the certainty that was due to Covid19), no case in my compound in the heart of the city, nor among my Chinese friends, who themselves tell me that they do not know anyone who has been contaminated in their own circle...
• I live nearby one of the largest hospitals in Shanghai that was a designated facility for patients with Covid; I haven't noticed any crisis there: no scene of desolation, panic, chaos...

It must be said that measures to prevent and control the epidemic have been numerous and effective:

• on January 22nd, in the minute that followed the announcement of the Hubei lock-down, 100% of the population started to wear a mask; you read me well: 100%, everywhere!,
• very quickly too, body temperatures measurements were widely implemented; at the entrances to office buildings, residences, shops and malls...at subway and train stations, at airports; everywhere and often via infrared cameras; same for the provision of hydro-alcoholic gel,
• tests arrived quickly and were accessible in hospitals,
• quarantine and isolation became mandatory, while effective mechanisms for tracing routes and contacts were introduced,
• health checks at airports were strenghtened and mandatory for every passager; for example, it took 17 hours for my wife between landing and arriving at our compound on March 18th (when in ordinary times, it takes less than 2 hours); nothing was left aside in a very impressive professional way,
• before the end of February, everyone was able to access via apps to their own health code: a QR code, which is a real magic display (provided it is green) to access any public space!

There are other reasons that explain this rapid control of the epidemic:

• the general behaviour of Asian people, brought up in Confucianism, and who show a great sense of collective and common interest when facing those types of situation,
• the characteristics of the Chinese civil society:

- the famous neighborhood committees, the CCP's relay, which are present everywhere and acting as watchmen and guards

- a considerable capacity to mobilize volunteers and medical staff (all extremely courteous and kind I must say)

- widespread use among the population of digital apps, including WeChat (900 million users) or Alibaba, facilitating both tracking of people and usage of contactless electronic payments

- and it is alors fair to say, a quite strong submission to the political authorities; any failure to comply or abide to the health rules in force, could become a severely punished crime.

Since May 9th 2020, the whole country has become a low-risk area, except in 1 or 2 cities in the north-east; however, caution remains, and there are still many controls in place which are not unduly altering my Shanghainese life.

The company I am working for, BNP Paribas China, went through that crisis without any problem thanks to the exceptionnel dedication and commitment of its employees and my fellow members of the management committee, and has continued to serve all its Chinese and foreign corporate and institutional clients.

In a way, I consider myself fortunate for having spent the last few months here in China in this living city of Shanghai, where I have always felt safe. I want to express to all of you who have faced the disease, the loss of a loved one, or difficult conditions of containment, my most sincere support.