China is dismantling its zero-covid machine
Even as the virus appears to be spreading
According to the official data, the latest outbreak of covid-19 is waning in China. The number of new cases has fallen recently, to fewer than 30,000 a day, from a peak of more than 40,000 in November. But fewer people are being tested. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, actually, more Chinese are catching the disease, raising fears of a big wave.
Far from locking down, though, China is largely ditching its “zero-covid” policy. That effort relied on three main mechanisms to contain outbreaks. On December 7th the government announced that all of them are being dismantled.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Dismantling the machine"
From the December 10th 2022 edition
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