2 major cities in China are ready to coexist with COVID-19 while millions of people in the country are infected in an uncontrolled outbreak of the virus, Reuters writes,

After 3 years of ruthless restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus, Xi Jinping has finally abandoned COVID-19’s zero-tolerance policy of quarantine and testing in the face of protests and a widening outbreak.

Health experts and residents are concerned that the statistics do not reflect the actual number of deaths and the fragile health system is already overstretched.

After the initial shock over the past few weeks, during which residents of Beijing and Shanghai stayed at home, either fighting the disease or trying to avoid it, there are signs that life in China is returning to normal, as evidenced by crowded trains and car-clogged major traffic arteries in the two cities.

According to one resident, after 2 months of harsh self-isolation for 25 million people in the commercial center of China, many people are simply resigned and ready to coexist with the pandemic, as quarantine is no longer a long-term solution to the problem.

Almost everyone has returned to their normal daily routines and the tense atmosphere has passed.

Note that China is the last major country to move to treat COVID-19 as an endemic disease, but measures to contain the virus have slowed the $17 trillion economy to its lowest level in nearly half a century, disrupting global supply chains and trade.

Analysts believe the world’s second-largest economy is expected to suffer even more in the short term as the COVID-19 wave spreads to manufacturing areas and engulfs workers before the situation can return to normal next year.

Meanwhile, according to state media reports, the country’s health system is under enormous strain, with all available staff, including sick and retired health workers in rural communities, forced to work.