The pandemic has made life harder for China’s homeless
When covid-19 spreads, they are often blamed
SPARE A LITTLE pity for a Chinese beggar called Mr Jiang. Last month he was blamed for a small covid-19 outbreak in the city of Haining. The media labelled him “patient zero”. The authorities noted his “super-strength infectiousness”. Samples from the public toilets and empty shops where Mr Jiang slept came back positive for the virus. He tested positive, too. The authorities are prosecuting him for allegedly not co-operating with contact-tracers.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Victims, not vectors”
From the May 14th 2022 edition
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