In recent days, the smallest pallet of cherries unloaded on this Beijing market has created a riot. People jostle, even if it means stepping on each other for a simple tray, as shown in the TF1 video above. These fruits, like lemons, are considered remedies for Covid-19 by traditional Chinese medicine. “A truckload of lemons arrived and it was looted before it was unloaded. When everyone has peaches and lemons, I hope people will be more reasonable,” can we read on social networks in the description of a video where we see dozens of people rushing on trays of lemons, as if it were a rare and precious commodity.
In China, the shelves of pharmacies are empty and it is almost impossible to find medicine for fever. The Covid-19 epidemic is on the rise and it is impossible to know its extent. Since 2020, the country’s government has been imposing strict health restrictions, in the name of a policy known as “zero Covid” which helped protect those most at risk. But the government ended most of these measures without warning at the beginning of December, against a backdrop of growing exasperation among the population.