In the quiet, I think about posts I see on WeChat, reports that since the first covid outbreak in early 2020, people in many small cities in China have been living in constant lockdowns: 160 days, 90 days, 60 days. Many of us ordinary Chinese had never heard such stories before.

Another disquieting report reached me a different way. A family in a relative’s compound who had been in close contact with people who tested positive were told last month that they would be taken to an isolation hotel. This family, with elderly members and young children, wished to isolate in their home. Compound residents turned out and physically blocked the gate to prevent their removal. “What’s happening to them today can happen to all of us tomorrow,” people said, according to my relative.

The next day, the family was taken away.

Buildings in my compound are now divided into two categories: ones with and without positive cases. People living in the former are supposed to test daily or every other day, while those in the latter test less frequently. In principle, residents in the less stringent category should be permitted to move more freely within and outside the compound. In practice, however, we remain locked inside.