“Balanced Anti-Epidemic”: A Study on the Prevention and Control of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Pre-Omicron Period

The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic has posed many challenges to countries around the world, testing the governance capacity of different countries and regions. Shanghai is characterized by a large domestic and international population flow and a large volume of import and export shipments, so its epidemic prevention and control faces the dual pressure of cross-province and overseas population flow. However, Shanghai has achieved relatively good performance in epidemic prevention and control during the pre-Omicron period. Through a comparative study of Shanghai and other provinces and cities in China during this period, the authors found a “balanced anti-epidemic” model for Shanghai’s epidemic prevention and control, which is based on the concept of “balanced anti-epidemic” and the three pillars of “professional governance, precise prevention and control, and lean execution”. By balancing epidemic prevention and control with economic development and normalization of social life, as well as reducing epidemic risks and controlling epidemic prevention costs, Shanghai has maintained a relatively effective epidemic prevention and control. However, the limitations of this approach have become apparent with the rise of the more infectious and milder Omicron epidemic.