China wishes to end Covid once and for all

As the Communist Party's mouthpiece newspaper pushed residents for a "final triumph" over COVID on Wednesday, global health professionals raced to ascertain the facts of China's raging COVID-19 epidemic and how to prevent further spread. China's removal of rigorous viral controls last month released COVID on a 1.4 billion-person population that had been immune to the virus when it arose in the central city of Wuhan three years ago. Many funeral homes and hospitals report being swamped, and foreign health experts estimate at least one million fatalities in China this year; yet, China has reported five or fewer deaths per day since the policy shift.

"That is completely ridiculous," a 66-year-old Beijing resident named Zhang remarked of the official death toll. "Four of my close relatives passed away. That is only from one household. I hope the administration is forthcoming with the people and the rest of the world about what has occurred here."

Foreign scepticism of China's data has been dismissed as politically motivated attempts to tarnish the country's successes in battling the virus. "China and the Chinese people will undoubtedly win the final victory against the epidemic," the Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, wrote in an editorial, responding to criticism of China's three years of isolation, lockdowns, and testing, which sparked historic protests late last year. After lifting the limitations, Beijing is retaliating against nations that demand pre-departure COVID testing from Chinese travellers, claiming that the laws were excessive and without a scientific foundation.