Mass testing and lockdowns: Inside China’s ‘zero COVID’ policy

Why is the country keeping itself isolated from the world?

A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab sample from a resident for nucleic acid testing during a mass testing for the coronavirus disease
A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab sample from a resident for nucleic acid testing during mass testing in China for the coronavirus disease [China Daily/Reuters]

While the rest of the world is trying to manage how to live with the coronavirus, China continues with its ‘zero COVID’ policy, forcing people into strict lockdowns. But why is the country keeping itself isolated from the world, and how are people there reacting to the measures?

In this episode: 

Katrina Yu, Al Jazeera’s China correspondent (@Katmyu)

Christian Petersen-Clausen, documentary filmmaker in Shanghai (@chris__pc)

This episode was produced by Ney Alvarez, with Amy Walters, Negin Owliaei, Ruby Zaman, Alexandra Locke, and Halla Mohiedden. Alex Roldan is our sound designer, this episode was mixed by Seth Samuel. Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Connect with us at @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Source: Al Jazeera

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