image copyrightGetty ImagesChina has maintained its "zero-covid" strategy with massive testing, while other countries grapple with living with the virus.Around the world, people are getting used to life after lockdown, with vaccines doing the heavy lifting against covid and restrictions gradually being lifted.However, in China, where the pandemic started, there is still a tough virus elimination policy.A person walks into a five-star hotel to briefly ask for directions and ends up in quarantine for two weeks because a guest there had contact with the coronavirus.A high-speed train crew member becomes close to someone infected, and carriages full of passengers are quarantined for mass testing.At Shanghai Disneyland 33,863 visitors suddenly have to undergo mass testing because a visitor from the previous day tested positive.Welcome to the life of the country whose sole objective is to return to the times of zero covid.China was the first country to impose restrictions to combat this pandemic and will be one of the last to ease them.When you talk to ordinary Chinese you find that many don't seem to care about continued strict anti-covid measures, as long as they stay safe.image copyrightGetty ImagesI asked one woman if China should open up faster, and she told me it would be better to wait until the pandemic is properly resolved "because safety comes first."Another, on her way home from work, told me that for the sake of social stability it would be better to keep the closures, as the virus has not been fully understood and vaccines are likely to improve.Until recently, other countries like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore also reacted to each outbreak of the coronavirus as something that needed to be completely eradicated in the community, ordering entire cities to close until the virus stopped spreading.The goal was to get to zero local transmissions.However, two things changed this approach: one was the appearance of the Delta variant, much more difficult to control;and, the second and more important, was to reach high levels of vaccination.High vaccination rates mean that people can still contract covid-19, but without having to go to hospital.As a result, the borders of other countries are opening to international travel, while in the Asian giant, visas for foreigners remain difficult to obtain and the Chinese still do not have their passports renewed once they have expired.image copyrightGetty ImagesIn other places, people are also "living with the virus".Not in China, as the country is focused on eliminating another Delta outbreak with the same zeal as before the vaccine.If official figures are accurate, more than 1,000 local broadcasts have been recorded since October.And although the number is not that high, the spread is significant and extends to 21 provinces.This is important because even a couple of cases in China will trigger the same strict measures as hundreds or thousands of new infections.The authorities have shown no intention of changing that approach, despite some Chinese scientists urging a rethink.One of them was Professor Guan Yi, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong and a government adviser, who called for a move from mass nucleic acid testing (which detects infections) to mass antibody testing (which could help scientists understand the effectiveness of vaccines).In an interview with Phoenix TV, the scientist stated that, in the long term, there is no chance that the "zero covid" strategy will work in terms of achieving a complete elimination."The virus is permanent now," he said."It's the same as the flu, which will circulate among humans for a long time."image copyrightGetty Images33,863 visitors to Shanghai Disneyland underwent mass testing because a visitor from the previous day had been infectedThis concept will not surprise people in other countries, while in China the government has maintained its goal of returning to zero cases with each new wave of the virus.The truth is that changing this message will be difficult.Asked how much protection Chinese vaccines could offer against variants of the coronavirus, Professor Guan said the answer should be given by the producers of the vaccines.Another question about Beijing's direction was raised by Dr. Haung Yanzhong of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, who said that a key problem is that vaccines cannot achieve what the Chinese government wants and that is why Beijing is wary."They don't trust the efficacy of vaccines, their ability to prevent infection," Haung told the BBC."Because even the best vaccines can't really prevent infections, but the zero-tolerance strategy says we can't accept a single infection," he adds.image copyrightGetty ImagesThe doctor added that the Chinese government is in political and ideological trouble every time it tries to proclaim "its successes" to the people, since it is far from completely controlling the broadcasts."The zero tolerance strategy is also part of the official narrative to claim the success of the Chinese model in response to the pandemic, but also the superiority of the Chinese political system. So if that strategy is abandoned and then you see the cases increase significantly, you know that would lead people to question the model," he warns.To all of the above is added the great desire among Chinese officials to celebrate the great events that are coming in an environment free of any covid outbreak.The most immediate thing is the Winter Olympics in February.Tickets have not been put on sale, but the goal is to have spectators in the stands.In October 2022, it will be the five-yearly Congress of the Communist Party, in which Xi Jinping is expected to start a historic third term.Of course, there will always be something on the horizon.image copyrightGetty ImagesSporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 in China cast doubt on the country's ability to keep Covid cases to zero ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.Another - rather obscure - interpretation of why the government is maintaining the elimination measure is that Xi Jinping and his administration are comfortable with the idea of ​​reducing foreign influence in China and the pandemic has provided them with an excellent excuse to move forward. in this direction.On social media, some nationalist posts have denounced international influence on "China's" way of doing things.To be sure, the governance emphasis here has shifted from a "reform and opening up" philosophy to one that places the Communist Party at the center of everything and its leader Xi Jinping at its core.As other countries have opened their borders, the BBC asked Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin when he might do the same in his country.image copyrightGetty ImagesAccording to him, China has been observing the experience of other countries and is focused on following what science says to make its decisions in light of the new variants that arise.In any case, experts close to the rulers of this country do not indicate the imminent end of contagion.In fact, it's the opposite.Dr. Zhong Nanshan is considered something of a medical hero in China.As a specialist in respiratory medicine, he rose to world fame in 2003 for refuting the official line that downplayed the seriousness of Sars.Today, people and officials listen to what he has to say.In a recent interview, Zhong said that the strict measures to overcome the covid in China would be maintained for "quite a while".He added that a global COVID-19 mortality rate of 2% was too high for China to accept, even with vaccines underway.The cost of opening up too quickly was not worth it, he said, adding that China would look at other countries' experience with their "living with Covid" plans.It's also important to note that Chinese officials can be quite conservative in their approach to him.They may be planning to "reopen" the country again and just aren't in much of a rush to do so.image copyrightGetty ImagesWaiting is what many who want to enter or leave China will inevitably have to do.While middle- and upper-class people lament the lack of freedom to move internationally, many ordinary Chinese seem content to let the government handle the situation if it keeps them healthy.In the meantime, mass testing, centralized quarantine, transportation controls, high-level surveillance, tracking and tracing, as well as strict and localized lockdowns will continue to be an important part of life in China.Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo.Download our app and activate them so you don't miss our best content.© 2022 BBC.The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Read about our stance on external links.