For many people, COVID-19 is an inconvenience that’s become an undesirable part of normal life. Not so in China, where zero tolerance means those who contract the virus have been isolated and often disparaged just for getting infected.
Those who have recovered are singled out during regular mass testing, which people in big cities must undergo at least every three days. A history of infection stored in the health apps that track each person can be found by employers, threatening job prospects. At the extreme, some people have lost their homes and their livelihoods because of COVID-19 discrimination.
One former worker at a government-run isolation facility in Shanghai slept on the streets during parts of June since he couldn’t find work or housing after getting infected. Employers in Shanghai and nearby cities wouldn’t take him, and many help wanted ads specifically said applicants "must not have had COVID,” according to his posts on the social media site Weibo.