According to Caixin Global, a state-sponsored yet more critical media authority in China, cases were extremely high in the beginning and there was some effort t

According to Caixin Global, a state-sponsored yet more critical media authority in China, cases were extremely high in the beginning and there was some effort to hide the number of actual deaths. But it seems now China has controlled Covid due to being able to repress the population into it. They were able to withstand the heavy economic fallout (which was noticeably shortened due to the repressive measures), and get back up to normalcy in other parts of the country much earlier. I'm currently in the UAE and it's a similarly interesting story. The UAE is divided into 7 Emirates, with Abu Dhabi as the wealthiest, Dubai as the next wealthiest but heavily in debt, and the northern Emirates under the financial leash of Abu Dhabi. The difference between Dubai and the other Emirates is night and day - Abu Dhabi dictated very harsh terms (by fines, and even prison time for those voluntarily spreading the disease by licking groceries, etc) and rigorous testing, and the 5 northern Emirates followed suit. Dubai was hurting (because it's a tourism economy), and opened up much sooner, leading to a very heavy spike in cases - most of the current cases in the UAE are in Dubai, which like Europe could not afford to stay closed. Even now, travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is only allowed under exceptional circumstances.