China's strict zero-COVID policy may be gone, but it has been replaced by chaos, confusion and risk.

Beijing — China may be pivoting away from its strict zero-COVID measures, but you'd never know it in Beijing. Everyone in the capital is confused. The city of more than 21 million people doesn't have a coherent plan, government computer systems are overwhelmed and COVID help-line staff reached on the phone aren't sure how this brave new world will function. It's no surprise residents are staying home to avoid breaking rules that haven't yet been spelled out.  Two full days after the government announced it was relaxing the years-old zero-COVID policy, Beijing's streets were as quiet Friday as they were during the darkest days of mass lockdowns. Only the drugstores are busy, serving customers flocking to bulk-buy over the counter flu medicines and traditional Chinese remedies. Everyone is bracing for a so-called exit-wave — a surge in cases like the one that swept across Hong Kong when its government suddenly relaxed COVID restrictions. The region's omicron-fuelled fifth wave, which pea