China is paying a high price for opening up

Beijing’s roads are busy once more. Though zero Covid had ended in December, cities across China emptied out again over the past month as the virus swept through the population. Many stayed home to avoid getting infected or, more likely, to recover from infection. One government model estimated that a fifth of the Chinese population (250 million people) were infected in the first twenty days of December. But now, those who have got better are going back on to the streets and back into their workplaces. Cities which fell first, like Beijing, are hoping that they are over the worst of this wave.

Congestion across 15 Chinese cities is up two thirds compared to late December. The number of domestic flights has increased by 50 per cent, while dozens of Beijing cinemas have reopened. In the southern city of Guangzhou, official figures report that the number of patients in fever clinics has declined since 23 December.