The first cases of the illness that quickly became known as Covid-19 were detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and in those first terrible months of the global health crisis thousands of people in China died.
But then everything changed, and the country introduced the strictest of surveillance systems, mandatory testing for everyone every week and lockdowns that would have been unimaginable in a place such as Ireland.
Zero Covid was — and remains — the goal in China, and it has been a central plank of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s rule over the last two-and-a-half years.
Irish Times journalist Denis Staunton is in Beijing this week reporting on the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
‘He was kept locked in a room with a leg-shackle until the 1980s’: Stories from Ireland’s state-run asylums
Video emerges of aid workers killed in Gaza under gunfire barrage, with ambulance lights on
Businesses unlikely to receive Covid-style support schemes to counter Trump tariffs
Trump’s tariffs: How will it hit me in my pocket and shopping trolley?
He talks to In The News presenter Conor Pope about his unusual arrival in China, the quarantine and testing requirements he faced, and how zero Covid continues to impact lives in China.
He also looks at happenings at the Congress — which has seen Xi Jinping cement his authority in the country — and events in recent weeks, including escalating tensions over Taiwan, and what it means for China and for the world.
