To slow down a surge in Covid cases, last week Chinese authorities put Shanghai into lockdown. But with a population of 26 million there have been difficulties providing residents with basic necessities, and videos have appeared on social media showing protests and scrambles over food supplies. Now, authorities have begun easing the lockdown in some areas, despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new Covid cases. Madeleine Finlay talks to the Guardian’s China affairs correspondent, Vincent Ni, about what’s been happening in Shanghai, whether the Omicron variant may spell the end of China’s zero-Covid policy, and what an alternative strategy could look like This podcast was amended on 15th April 2022 to correct an error in the scripting. We incorrectly stated that Shanghai authorities would start easing lockdown in some areas on Monday 18th April. Lockdown easing began on Monday 11th April.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod