China censors zero-Covid debate

BEIJING: China’s censors scrambled to wipe out online debate over its zero-Covid strategy on Wednesday after the World Health Organisation (WHO) criticised the country’s hardline approach to crushing the virus. China is the last major economy glued to a zero-Covid policy and enforces some of the most stringent virus controls anywhere in the world.

Those restrictions have trapped most of Shanghai’s 25 million people in a lockdown with no clear end date, while Beijing has also gradually corralled many of its residents indoors as it battles its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began. On Tuesday WHO chief urged China to change tack, saying the approach "will not be sustainable" in the face of new fast-spreading variants.