Isolated China Is Cracking Under the Strain of Keeping Covid Out

  • Remote city of Ruili sees four lockdowns in seven months
  • Delta waves batter China, as each comes faster than the last
Medical workers collect throat swab from local residents at a Covid-19 nucleic acid testing site in Ruili, China, on Oct. 2.Source: Visual China Group/Getty Images
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China has been able to beat back successive waves of Covid-19 thanks to the widespread deployment of snap lockdowns, strict quarantines and some of the world’s tightest travel controls. Yet, the strain is showing at its borders.