Some people in China are protesting the country's "zero covid" strategy

 

Chinese men peer over a barrier in Guangzhou. NPR/AP.

Protests have broken out in Southern China over the countries extreme anti-Coronavirus lockdowns. NPR. People took to the streets and tore down barriers in Guangzhou. China has stuck to extreme lockdowns even after most countries have lifted most or all restrictions. China has said that they would be back off from their "zero-covid" strategy, but has had a spike of cases in Guangzhou. People in the city have been in lockdowns for over a month now. State media is silent on the protests and the west only heard about it due to videos posted online. 

NEW - People in China's Guangzhou city tear down COVID barricades.pic.twitter.com/M28Rw63APC

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My Comment:

It's absolutely insane to me that China is still doing lockdowns. The rest of the world has moved on. Almost all of our restrictions have been pulled and it's pretty rare to even see people wearing masks here in Wisconsin. I was at the grocery store tonight and I saw only one couple wearing a mask and I did a double take when I saw it. For the rest of the world, the pandemic is over. 

That isn't to say that the Coronavirus isn't still around. People are still getting sick and some are even dying. But for most people the virus is not a threat at all. At worst it's a flu and at best it's a cold. Most people who will get it now will be fine. The virus has evolved in a much less deadly and dangerous form. 

But the idea that the virus is still bad enough that people shouldn't be allowed out of their houses? It's insane! It didn't make much sense even with the original virus, which was dramatically more deadly than the current version. Locking people down never stopped the virus and it's insane that they are still doing it. 

And it's very surprising that the Chinese people have put up with it for so long. Keep in mind these aren't like the lockdowns we had here in the United States. In China they lock people in their homes and deliver them food. And people have been doing that on and off for almost three years now. It's crazy and I can't believe that they have only had a few small riots. 

I do think that China will have to eventually back off of this policy. Indeed, it seems like they are heading that way already. They can no longer sustain the economic damage and disorder that these lockdowns cause and have said they are going to move away from zero covid. But they should have done it a long time before now. 

I wonder what will happen when the lockdowns are lifted. China has large numbers of people that have never had the virus so I am guessing they will see a major wave of infections. The other problem is that the lockdowns have done a lot of damage to people. I can't imagine the psychological problems these people have after being lockdowned for the better part of three years...