Hamsters culled as China pulls out all stops in Covid war

No person, pet or foreign parcel is beyond suspicion as officials struggle to meet Xi Jinping’s ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy.

On Tuesday Hong Kong authorities began a mass cull of 2000 hamsters from the city’s Little Boss pet store. Picture: AFP

Hamsters are being slaughtered in their thousands. International mail is being drenched in disinfectant. Officials have told citizens to beware foreign goods.

The war on Covid in the People’s Republic of China has entered a hysterical new phase. No person, pet or parcel is beyond suspicion. Even imported cherries — a Lunar New Year favourite — are on the danger list.

“There has been fruit that tested positive for the coronavirus in China,” said Zhang Liubo, chief expert on disinfection at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Covid-19 is still a global pandemic so items sent from overseas could be contaminated.”

The impending Beijing Winter Olympics and Lunar New Year holiday, the most important in China, are putting extraordinary pressure on Chinese officials as they struggle to implement President Xi Jinping’s signature “dynamic zero-Covid” policy.

Beijing officials this week announced no tickets would be sold to the Olympics. Only vetted state-owned company employees and selected Beijing university students – most of them current or aspiring Communist Party members – will attend.

The curated crowd will have to pass two nucleic acid tests before their entry and restrict their movements in the weeks before attending.

Winter sports fans – a tiny minority among China’s 1.4 billion people – have expressed disappointment about not being able to go, but government-aligned academics say party/state-­selected crowds will ensure appropriate levels of enthusiasm.

“Winter sports are a niche in China,” Zhao Jisheng, a professor at the College of Physical Education and Sports of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times. “Organising spectators will not only help increase attendance but the vast majority of spectators will echo the atmosphere on the field.”

An employee at a state-owned company agreed. “I am not a winter sports enthusiast, but after signing up to watch the Winter Olympics, I also started to study the events in order to cheer for the athletes,” she told state media.

The ban on ticket sales was announced as Beijing health officials battled an Omicron outbreak they claim began with a parcel imported from Canada. While Canadian health authorities said the likelihood of such a scenario was “extremely low”, their China counterparts have adopted strict parcel countermeasures.

State media on Wednesday was filled with pictures of health officials in hazmat suits meeting flights of foreign cargo as they landed in China.

Reports said they would be repeatedly doused in disinfectant before they were distributed.

Health officials also issued warnings advising citizens to wear masks and disposable gloves when opening overseas mail.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong officials were fighting a new furry enemy in the People’s War.

On Tuesday they began a mass cull of 2000 hamsters from the city’s Little Boss pet store after a retiree who had been to the shop tested positive for Covid.

More than 100 customers at the shop were also put into quarantine and officials ordered the suspension of the sale of all hamsters in Hong Kong.

Some hamsters at the shop had tested positive for corona­virus, although there has been no establishment of hamster-to-human transmission.

Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Leung Siu-fai said “public health needs” necessitated the drastic response and asked citizens to co-operate.

“We urge all pet owners to observe strict hygiene when handling their pets and cages. Do not kiss (them) or abandon them on the streets,” he said.

Back on the mainland in the ancient capital of Xi’an, an information ban has been added to a strict lockdown imposed on the city’s 13 million residents.

The social media restrictions followed an eruption of outrage when a woman lost her unborn baby in the eighth month of pregnancy after being denied medical attention because she did not have the required negative Covid test. Residents in the city told The Australian on Wednesday the situation was improving. “In my district, we are allowed to go shopping once every two days,” said one. “It has been a difficult period for us, but slowly the worst is being passed,” said another.