Agencies/Beijing

Hundreds of thousands more people were confined to their homes in northern China yesterday as the country battled its worst Covid surge in 21 months and locked-down residents took to social media to complain about food shortages.

China — where the virus emerged two years ago — has followed a “zero-Covid” strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors to February’s Winter Olympics.…