China: is this the end of zero-Covid?

Three years after coronavirus was first detected in China, it remains the only major nation pursuing Zero Covid. So as maskless fans enjoy the World Cup and countries all over the world move on, China remains stuck and the people are protesting.

After the initial outbreak in Wuhan back in 2020, authorities were quick to clamp down on any emergence of the virus - pursuing a zero-Covid policy. 

That has seen China officially record a low number of both cases and deaths, a message to the world of how to do it right.

But it’s all different, as the country is currently seeing a record number of cases.

Today, our present Matt Frei discusses the widespread demonstrations in China and the government’s move to ramp up vaccinations - is the government bending to the will of the people or does Xi Jinping remain all supreme?

Producer: Freya Pickford