China Weighs Methods for Relaxing Zero-Covid-19 Grip: Bubbles, Drugs and New Messaging

March 2, 2022

(Wall Street Journal) – China, the last major country to stick with a zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, is now actively exploring ways to loosen controls. In preparation for a potential opening, Chinese officials are looking into the use of travel bubbles modeled on measures taken during the Winter Olympics, collecting data on new antiviral drugs and scouting sites abroad for future production of homegrown Chinese mRNA vaccines, according to people familiar with the matter. Covid-19 controls likely won’t be eased before next spring, according to two of the people, but experimental opening measures could arrive in select cities as early as this summer. (Read More)