The right question to ask about China’s exit from its zero-Covid-19 strategy is not when but how. Some expect an imminent departure, drawing conclusions from policy tweaks now in motion. Beijing’s largest district, for instance, is letting patients serve quarantines at home. It is a notable shift from the official zero-Covid-19 formula that prescribes centralised isolation for not just patients but also their close contacts.

Guangzhou, Chongqing and other cities have also eased lockdown restrictions despite a surge in cases, a decision state media described as “optimising” anti-epidemic policies amid new realities. Indeed, new thinking on managing Covid-19 appears to be on the ascendant. Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, zero-Covid-19’s chief enforcer, sparked a stock market rally when she described the fight against the pandemic as being at a new stage, enjoining new tasks.