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China zero-Covid strategy: Your questions answered

Epidemiologist Professor Francois Balloux answers listeners' questions on China's zero-Covid policy.

China has one of the toughest anti-Covid regimes in the world with a zero-Covid policy.

China is following a policy it calls "dynamic zero" - taking action wherever Covid flares up in order to eradicate it.

China's government says this saves lives, because uncontrolled outbreaks would put many vulnerable people at risk, including the elderly.

Strict lockdowns mean China's death toll has stayed low ever since the start of the pandemic - the official figure is just over 5,200.

This is equal to only three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK.

Professor Francois Balloux, an epidemiologist at University College London, answers audience questions on strict lockdowns, China's vaccine policy and the achievability of zero-Covid.

(Photo: A delivery courier places food near a barricade at an entrance to a residential compound, amid lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sanya, Hainan province, China. Credit: Reuters)

Release date:

Duration:

6 minutes