The past year saw wild swings in China’s experience with Covid-19, with periods of strict lockdown interspersed with stretches of relative normality. After public anger boiled over and the government suddenly changed course, though, it’s high time to draw this traumatic period to a close.
Many women are putting off pregnancy due to concerns over lockdowns and being turned away at hospitals, even as the economy and household finances suffer. Instead of spending huge sums on mass testing, Beijing should make housing, schooling and childcare affordable and stop treating women as reproduction tools.