Covid-19 And China
Following widespread rallies asking for an end to lockdowns and more political freedom, China’s top Covid official and many localities have hinted at a potential relaxation of the nation’s stringent zero-tolerance stance to the virus.
Protests have been held in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in response to anger at China’s zero-Covid policy, which entails widespread lockdowns, ongoing testing, and quarantines even for those who are not affected.
However, while calling for a “crackdown” in response to the protests, the authorities have also started to make suggestions that a softer approach to combating viruses may be in the works.
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan stated at the National Health Commission on Wednesday that the Omicron strain was diminishing and vaccination rates were rising.
Sun, a key player in Beijing’s pandemic response, said that these “new circumstances” called for “new duties.”
In her most recent statements, she made no mention of the zero-Covid policy, implying that a strategy that has damaged the economy and daily life may soon be loosened.
The remarks were made at the same time that the Chinese capital said it will reduce the burdensome daily testing procedures that were a part of life under zero-Covid.
According to Xu Hejian, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal Government, people who do not usually leave their homes, including the elderly, those who work from home, students and teachers in online education, and others, are no longer required to take daily examinations.
However, entry into public areas like cafés, restaurants, and shopping centres still requires a negative Covid test that was done within 48 hours.
Additionally, according to a story published on Thursday by the state-run Southern Metropolis Daily, local officials in Beijing and Guangzhou intended to permit certain positive Covid patients to quarantine at home rather than in state-run institutions.
Later, the story was removed, and AFP’s inquiries to the local government in several cities for confirmation remained unanswered.
Guangzhou, a major hub for manufacturing in the south and the scene of violent skirmishes between police and demonstrators on Tuesday night, also declared a halt to daily mass testing for individuals who do not usually leave their homes, such as the elderly and young children.
On Thursday, the Haizhu district, the scene of previous demonstrations, took things a step further by asserting that only employees in specific fields, like as medical professionals, pharmacists, sanitary workers, and delivery personnel, must undergo daily testing.
In spite of a record number of viral cases, authorities partially eased a weeks-long lockdown the day before, lifting restrictions to varied degrees in all of the country’s 11 districts, including Haizhu.
In addition, the central city of Chongqing said on Wednesday that close family members of Covid patients who complied with specific requirements may quarantine at home, in contrast to the previous regulations that called for them to be sent to centralised isolation facilities.
According to new regulations that allow people to practise “home isolation” rather than being transported to quarantine facilities, “we believe that Chinese authorities are shifting to a ‘living with Covid’ stance.”
On Thursday, the nation reported 35,800 domestic COVID cases, the majority of which were asymptomatic.
As China reaches the third anniversary of the pandemic first being detected in the central city of Wuhan, its hardline approach to the virus has stoked unrest not seen since the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
Covid restrictions were blamed for locking victims inside the blazing building during a fatal fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of the northwest province of Xinjiang.
However, protesters have also called for more extensive political changes, with some even asking for President Xi Jinping to resign.
Verifying the number of protesters across China’s enormous nation is extremely difficult due to the country’s strong information control policies and ongoing travel restrictions.
However, China seldom often sees rallies of this size, as was the case over the weekend.
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