Although there would be little change in how many people get infected, it could mean some lives are saved if the health system can function well.”īut Xi threw the gates open. “Most models suggest that it would be better for the health system to open up slowly. “All governments had to decide to open up at some stage or risk the consequences of lockdowns far outweighing the problems of Covid,” says Professor Emma McBryde, an epidemiologist at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

But it was the last, and global health experts say there were plenty of lessons it could have heeded – primarily, making sure vaccinations and health resources were high before the tsunami of cases hit. China was not the only country to choose a zero-Covid strategy, and certainly not the only one to “ let it rip” once it dropped it. Xi’s extraordinary backflip left analysts alarmed and confused. My grandmother was in tears, saying he had left her behind.” “It was the morning, and my mum walked into my room and said: your grandpa is in the emergency room,” she recalls. Sunny’s grandfather was among those who died in that wave.

Online and in the streets, people spoke of almost everyone they knew having caught Covid, and of elderly relatives dying. Morgues were overwhelmed, pharmacies reported shortages of basic medications, and supply of antiviral drugs was held up by protracted negotiations with foreign suppliers. Up to 10,000 critical cases were registered in hospitals every day. Over the last two months, the virus has rapidly spread through the country. “I felt it was all for nothing,” Sunny says. Sunny says she felt instantly “relieved” that lockdowns were over but her feelings soon turned to anger as it became clear China’s government had opened up the country, knowing it wasn’t ready. By the end of the year, zero-Covid was gone.

Chinese lock down