‘We are accepting the new reality’: China prepares for exit wave of Covid infections

A swirl of hope, fear and resignation has gripped China since the government announced that it was reducing Covid requirements, write Christian Shepherd, Lyric Li and Lisa Movius

China has been following a zero-Covid policy since the outbreak of the pandemic (Getty)

A month ago the northern Chinese city Shijiazhuang was in panic. Residents worried they were unwitting participants in some kind of public health experiment after becoming the first city where coronavirus testing requirements were suddenly scrapped even as cases continued to rise.

But the mood changed after the government announced Wednesday the biggest nationwide relaxation of Covid restrictions since the start of the pandemic.

“We are accepting the new reality,” says Yang Lianfang, a local civil servant. Her neighbours have even started to joke that if you haven’t tested positive yet, you might need to work on your social skills. “Reopening is happening and there is no return.”