I was in China during the initial outbreak, and those guys in biohazard suits were definitely performative in my part of town. They walked through the neighborh

I was in China during the initial outbreak, and those guys in biohazard suits were definitely performative in my part of town. They walked through the neighborhood with a "reporter" in tow, who made sure that every squirt of their magical anti-COVID pixie dust could be captured on film for posterity. In the China case, I'm not sure if it was to reassure the public (who are used to seeing this sort of performative busywork) or if it was more a kind of political one-upmanship amongst local officials who all wanted to give their superiors the impression that they were the hardest-working or most serious cadre in the area.