In recent months, local health authorities in China have been conducting emergency infection disease response drills. On August 15, emergency drills for the outbreak of “pneumonia of unknown cause” were carried out in Dingxi, Gansu Province; a district in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province; and Lingchuan County, Shanxi Province. According to an official notice, national-level authorities had ordered officials in 10 provinces to conduct these drills by the end of August.
The term “pneumonia of unknown cause” was first used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and again when COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan in late 2019. Since June, similar drills have been conducted across more than a dozen provinces and regions, including Beijing. These drills mark the first official annual infectious disease emergency drill since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The response to these drills is based on a notice issued by the National Disease Prevention and Control Bureau in April. The notice followed the “2024 National Infectious Disease Emergency Response Conference” held on April 17 in Chengdu, Sichuan.
In July alone, Guangdong Province reported over 18,000 COVID-19 cases—an increase of more than 10,000 cases from June. The international community has long suspected that China has downplayed and covered up the true scale of COVID-19 infections and deaths due to its lack of transparency.
Dr. Jonathan Liu believes that these recent drills indicate preparations for another wave of COVID-19 infections. He argues that if there is another outbreak after declaring victory over COVID-19 previously, it will likely be labeled as “pneumonia of unknown cause.” Dr. Tang Jingyuan also suggests that these emergency response drills show that COVID-19 is still prevalent in China and its severity has fluctuated over time.
Microbiologist Sean Lin sees these drills as a potential political signal aimed at achieving more control over society under the guise of health concerns amidst economic challenges and high unemployment rates.
