Covid-2019

A great wall of shame in "Recommended Reading." A week ago the New York Times went all goo-goo eyes celebrating how "Officials in central China have tapped the government’s vast network of party members, civil servants and military veterans to help Foxconn" (the mega-factory in Zhengzhou where all the iPhones are made). Now a week later, more objective media around the world are reporting (and showing damning videos) of police beating workers bloody if they don't comply with Covid restrictions (that's right, these workers actually want to work). New recruits are so scared, Apple now has to pay a bonus to make them stay. But to America's Newspaper of Record, this is a workers' paradise.

We give thanks that the Covid emergency has receded to the point where we don't particularly have to think about it as our families and friends gather this year on this great day. Meanwhile, in China, daily new cases are making new all-time highs -- and a decision will have to be made whether or not to learn from the lockdown mistakes the world has made over the last two and a half years.

Here's a milestone, but not a trustworthy one. Today China extended its "days to double mortalities" to 1,000 -- showing the slowest trajectory of Covid spread in the world. What's odd is that it's coming at a time when China's daily new cases are at an all-time high. That's because this metric relies on deaths (that is, reported deaths) which are still nearly nonexistent in China.

China reports its first Covid death in 32 days. Meanwhile, the US reports 390. That's a rare exception to the usual day, in which US deaths seem pinned to about 500 for many months.