After seeing unprecedented and rare protests since last weekend, China, it appears, is changing its stance on the zero-COVID policy and easing restrictions.
Cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shijiazhuang in the north, Chengdu in the southwest have announced an easing of the COVID curbs after the Asian giant witnessed demonstrations in several cities; in many places these agitations turned violent, resulting in clashes between police and protesters.
The Asian superpower saw thousands of people across different walks of life and age demanding for a better COVID policy. Chants of ‘we want freedom’, ‘Down with Xi Jinping!’ and ‘Down with the Communist Party!’ were chanted on the streets of different cities. Many of them held blank pieces of paper to voice their protest against China’s censorship and strict COVID rules.
Also read: Why demonstrators are holding up papers with a physics equation
The breaking point for people was an apartment fire in the western Xinjiang region last week. Ten people were killed in the blaze, prompting an angry crowd to gather around government offices, convinced strict COVID restrictions had prevented residents from escaping the blaze.
On Wednesday, Sun Chunlan, China’s vice-premier and also the person overseeing the country’s COVID response, said the country is entering a “new stage and mission” in its coronavirus fight — a clear indicator that the country was changing its approach to the zero-COVID policy.
What COVID-19 restrictions have been eased and what else will be relaxed? We explain.
COVID curbs eased
The southern city Guangzhou, the fifth most populous city by urban resident population in China, announced a lifting of its lockdown and other COVID curbs. Officials in at least seven districts announced in statements they would lift the lockdowns.
One district said it would allow in-person classes in schools to resume. Central Guangzhou lifted its ban on indoor dining and scrapped PCR test requirements to enter many buildings.
Residents revelled in the return to normalcy. “It’s good to be back to normal again,” Faye Luo, 30, a sales manager at a technology startup in Guangzhou who returned to her office on Thursday, told the New York Times. “This time, I hope normal life can last a little longer.”
It is important to note here that Guangzhou had seen protests turning violent, with the police having to detain demonstrators for tearing lockdown barriers and hurling objects at the authorities.
Human’s crave freedom.
We must stand with the people of China. God bless them.pic.twitter.com/mM8uzcHg8V
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 27, 2022
In nearby Shenzen, news agency Reuters reported that some people would now be allowed to quarantine at home.
Curbs have also been eased in Chongqing; authorities have said that close contacts will be allowed to isolate at home. Some parts of the city have also loosened travel restrictions. Moreover, businesses such as barber shops and gyms will reopen this week, providing some relief to the residents. However, many factories in the area will remain shut.
On Thursday, Beijing, too announced lifting of some restrictions. A community allowed COVID cases with mild symptoms to isolate at home. Additionally, malls and supermarkets would also reopen.
Zhengzhou, where employees of Foxconn — the Apple-supplier factory — staged extraordinary walkouts to escape COVID restrictions in recent weeks, has also announced orderly resumption of life.
In Shenyang and Harbin, China's industrial hubs, it was announced that students who attend classes online and others who have very less interaction would no longer require to undergo the virus test that have been administered as often as once a day.
The rollbacks of COVID restrictions became the topic of discussion on WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, with people celebrating the news. “We were all very happy last night,” said one protester from Shanghai. “We started to picture how life would be after the whole country’s restrictions are loosened.”
The lifting of restrictions is welcomed news for the people of China who have seen the worst lockdowns — in some cases entire communities were locked down for weeks, after even just one positive case.
Videos also showed how China’s “pandemic prevention” had led to unprecedented neglect, mistreatment, and abuse. There were visuals of enforcers in white medical-isolation gowns beating people up, taking them away, or welding doors and shutting entryways with metal bars.
COVID fears linger
While the residents of China celebrate the lifting of the restrictions, which saw the country being in the strictest of lockdowns, health experts are a worried lot.
They are concerned that even as the government lifts curbs fearing the backlash they have received, the medical infrastructure in the country isn’t prepared for a mass COVID wave — infection rates are already at a high.
Reports state that two-thirds of people ages 80 and older are vaccinated, but only 40 per cent have received a booster dose, a critical shortcoming because Chinese-made vaccines offer weaker protection than the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Also read: Why COVID is showing no signs of slowing down in China
Also, there is a shortage of staff in the healthcare system. Medical experts fear that if cases keep climbing and seeing that there’s a gap in the vaccine coverage, hospitals would see added pressure.
It is left to be see how China deals with COVID, but one thing is sure: dissent is no longer a hush-hush word in the country and the Chinese are no longer afraid of standing up to the regime for their freedom.
With inputs from agencies
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