Since Covid-19 first emerged in Wuhan province in late 2019, China has pursued an aggressive containment policy. In October, 28 cities across China were in some form of lockdown impacting 207 million people. By comparison, much of the world had got rid of lockdowns, international travel had resumed, and life was returning to normal. But the government still maintained that Zero Covid was the most cost effective policy.

People across China started to protest – lift the restrictions. Then the infections spread. In the first 20 days of December 2022, China may have had 250 million Covid infections alone – that’s according to a leaked memo from top health officials. Reports from hospitals show overwhelmed wards, but officials in Beijing insist that everything is under control

This is Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young looks at how many cases there are in China, how the numbers exploded so fast and what this means for the rest of the world.