The difficult path to recovery in China

Abstract

The impressively speedy suppression of the coronavirus epidemic in China reflects a tight regime of containment measures, including a lockdown of Hubei province, social distancing, travel restrictions, and a quarantine for incoming travelers. Even though recent cases mainly originate from abroad, domestic pockets of COVID-19 infection likely remain undetected. Since most of the population has yet to develop immunity to the virus, the potential for significant flareups or a new wave of cases will persist in China until a vaccine is developed or “herd immunity” is otherwise achieved.