China’s steampunk covid response

In the science-fiction genre known as steampunk, impressive feats of creativity are applied to an odd task: imagining a futuristic world that uses only Victorian technology. There are no silicon chips or lithium batteries in steampunk worlds. Instead, heroes in frock-coats pilot steam-powered flying machines made of canvas, wood and hissing copper pipes, or consult clockwork computers of exquisite complexity. To understand China’s “zero-covid” policy, it is surprisingly helpful to think of it as a steampunk pandemic response.