COVID-19 in China. The Great Wall of Technology

Abstract

China is the first country to have faced an extensive contagion of Covid-19. The response it has given, in terms of prevention and control measures, has been effective in eradicating the virus, even though not completely. Those measures were based on an extensive and widespread use of technologies. The strategies adopted were not the result of improvisation: the social, cultural and technological structures were already in place well before the epidemic took place. In light of the news and the media theory, the present contribution draws upon the anecdotal experience of one of the two authors, who lives in China and has been there during the epidemic. Though the Chinese approach was, indeed successful, we argue that it is doubtful that such a model can be exported to countries with different history, culture and socio-political background.