Hospitals and pharmacies quiet again: How rural China survived the Covid-19 surge

Rural areas in China have been hit hard by a surge in Covid-19 cases after the central government abruptly dropped most pandemic restrictions in early December 2022. One village doctor in northern Hebei province reported an uptick in patients seeking treatment for fever, but said she could not confirm if they were suffering from Covid because of a lack of rapid antigen tests. In mid-January 2023, days before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, local villagers told the Post that they believed the worst was over.