China | Shaking with frustration

Public patience with zero-covid is wearing thin in China

An earthquake in locked-down Chengdu renews doubts about the policy

CAPTION CORRECTION. CHINA OUTMandatory Credit: Photo by STRINGER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13360677c)People lineup for a COVID-19 test in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, 02 September 2022. China has put the southwestern city of Chengdu, home to 21 million people on lockdown as the country sticks to its zero-Covid policy ahead of the 20th National Congress. CHINA OUTChina locks down Chengdu - 02 Sep 2022CAPTION CORRECTION - adding Country restriction field in IPTC CHINA OUT

Sep 8th 2022|BEIJING

The 21m residents of Chengdu faced a tricky decision on September 5th: adhere to the covid-19 lockdown declared by authorities days earlier, or evacuate their homes as a 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook the ground (it killed more than 70 people). In some cases local lockdown enforcers made the choice for them, barring people from leaving even high-rise buildings. Videos of such incidents have circulated online. “I would absolutely trample over anyone blocking me!” wrote one commenter, capturing the public’s mood.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Testing their patience”