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Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
"Yes, the situation is bleak, the situation is not good."
Full hospitals, patients in the corridors - the corona situation in China has escalated.
According to projections, a third of the approximately 22 million inhabitants of the capital Beijing became infected within a few weeks.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
"That's a dimension, a number that was completely unimaginable just a few weeks ago."
China has just made a 180 degree turn in its corona policy.
The country has moved away from its zero-Covid strategy and has lifted almost all measures.
Registrations, tests, quarantine camps in the event of infection - after three years, some of the toughest restrictions, all of this suddenly no longer exists.
The image in the city changes the new freedom only to a limited extent.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
“More than rules, habits persist.
People wear masks, people also wear masks outside.
People are currently reluctant to visit public spaces.
It's a low-key business throughout the city, but that's more a result of people's makeup than any regulations."
Most notably, what has changed is the narrative of government.
Reports on state television show that the situation is tense, but they also emphasize that the health system is being ramped up accordingly.
The government has also set up additional fever clinics, like in this stadium.
Or in buses.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»Messaging has completely changed.
The propaganda and all state institutions here have been telling us for three years that Covid is the worst thing that can ever happen to you.
For two or three weeks they've been telling us it's not wild at all."
The overall message: of course the situation is more serious than before, but we have everything under control.
This message probably also gets through to people who are not severely affected themselves.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»I've also heard people say: After all, the government protected us well for three years and now it just wasn't working anymore.
The situation is certainly different for people who are now trying to care for their seriously ill relatives.
So if you urgently need fever medication right now or a ventilator or a place in the intensive care unit, you are really pinched.
The situation is really worrying in some clinics.«
And it's not just the situation in the clinics that is worrying.
Even in front of the crematoria, the hearses sometimes line up.
Some morgues no longer accept coffins due to overcrowding.
There are several reasons why China changed its policy so suddenly and so drastically.
The dissatisfaction among the population, which was unusually loud by Chinese standards, is still considered minor.
With the number of cases exploding, it was simply impossible to capture the situation.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»In addition, the economy is of course suffering, and the local governments, which were largely responsible for implementing the zero-Covid policy, are all practically broke.
They have spent large parts of their budget on daily tests, on mass tests, on pandemic workers, on other expenses.
And they are at the end of their financial strength.«
There are now weeks and months of uncertainty ahead of China as far as the course of Covid is concerned.
One problem is that the Chinese vaccine is not designed to protect against omicron.
A further escalation threatens when the corona wave reaches the country.
The health care there is much worse than in big cities.
So only one thing seems clear.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»Well, I wouldn't dare make any predictions about how this will turn out.
But I don't think there's any question that we're going to have a tough few months here."