Brief note on end of covid testing at December 14 -
You've heard about the end of mandatory covid testing in China. And you've heard about the increase in cases, which are not being reported since the government is no longer keeping track of cases. Michael Pettis reports that several of his friends in Beijing are now positive.
Reported cases are falling dramatically. Clearly people getting sick in China are not following the news reports.
Just to add data - my wife's parents (both in their 80's) and her sister and brother-in-law, all in Jingzhou in Hubei, and her nephew (working in Guiyang in Guizhou) have tested positive in the last two days. All have fevers now, not sure about any other symptoms.
There are no medicines available, even regular cold and fever meds. All sold out days ago. There are very few covid tests, since the government has given up on that policy. Two weeks ago, you could get a test every day if you wanted.
No one seems to know if this version of covid will be as deadly as the original. The government is banking on it being less lethal.
The phone tracking system seems to work fine, though. One of our friends spent two weeks in the hospital for a procedure unrelated to covid. He was tested every day, every day negative. His phone showed a green signal, meaning no covid. As soon as he left the hospital, his signal changed to red - positive for covid.
Good to know that the government is not giving up on ability to track people's every movement, even if it is not tracking covid status. There is a silver lining to covid ... for CCP.
One speculation is that Xi Jinping is letting covid rip for a while, as a sop to the recent protests. Soon pressure will build to reinstate testing and isolation, and Xi can claim victory over the agitators - "See? See what happens when you let the people drive policy?"
That seems a bit harsh. Xi is in a tough spot, among many tough spots. The economy is in big trouble, foreign businesses are fleeing, even Foxconn. Why, oh why, would he want that third term?
