Major Chinese cities have begun lifting COVID lockdowns and easing restrictions following widespread protests against strict zero COVID policies.
Less than 24 hours later violent protests in Guangzhouofficials from at least seven districts in the sprawling port city in northern Hong Kong have announced they are lifting lockdowns.
A district said Wednesday it would allow schools to resume in-person classes and reopen restaurants and other businesses, including movie theaters.
Authorities in the southwestern city of Chongqing said they would now allow close contact with people COVID-19[feminine]who meet certain conditions, to self-quarantine.
The “orderly” resumption of businesses, including supermarkets, gyms and restaurants, has been announced in Zhengzhou, central China, where there have been Clashes at a huge Foxconn factory making iPhonesand an exodus of site workers frustrated by COVID curbs.
In rare scenes of open dissent, protests erupted across the country in response to covid lockdowns and restrictions, including in the commercial center of Shanghai and the capital Beijing.
People with mild coronavirus Symptoms in eastern Beijing are now allowed to self-isolate at home, under new rules issued by community leaders.
Another nearby neighborhood is hosting an online survey this week on the possibility of positive cases isolating at home.
“I certainly welcome the decision of our residential community to hold this vote regardless of the outcome,” said resident Tom Simpson, general manager of China at the Sino-British Business Council.
He said his main concern was being forced into a quarantine facility, where “conditions can be grim to say the least”.
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The easing stance follows quarantine protocols earlier in the year which saw entire communities locked down, sometimes for weeks, after even a single positive case was found.
National health officials said earlier in the week that China would respond to “urgent concerns” raised by the public and that COVID rules should be implemented more flexibly, depending on the severity of outbreaks in each country. region.
Despite a near-record number of cases, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said on Wednesday that the virus’ ability to cause disease was weakening, state media reported.
She also called for further “optimization” of testing, treatment and quarantine policies.
This contrasts with earlier messages from authorities about the lethality of the virus.
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Although the easing of some measures appears to be an attempt to appease the public, authorities have also begun searching for protesters, some who were at the Beijing protests told Reuters news agency.
“The police came to my front door to ask me questions about all this and make me fill out a written file,” said a resident, who did not want to be identified.
Another said friends who posted videos of the protests on social media were taken to a police station and asked to sign a pledge that they “wouldn’t do this again”.
