Whether or not it chooses to admit it, the Chinese Communist Party clearly has terminated its zero-Covid policy. The foundation of China’s zero-Covid policy has been ubiquitous nucleic-acid testing. Before Dec. 7, a 48-hour negative test certificate was required to access most public places throughout China. That costly policy wasn’t conducive to the long duration of this pandemic. Signs of financial wear began to show on May 26, when the National Medical Insurance Administration announced that from that point on local governments would be responsible for the cost of testing.

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