China eases further measures against COVID-19

In a sharp reversal, China on Wednesday announced several measures to lift some of the toughest restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Negative COVID tests and a clean bill of health displayed on an app will no longer be required, except in vulnerable areas such as day care centers, nursing homes and schools, according to the National Health Commission’s 10-point release.

The scope of the blocks was also limited to specific apartments and condominiums, rather than entire districts and neighbourhoods.

People who test positive for the virus will be able to isolate themselves at home instead of crowded and unsanitary field hospitals, and schools where no outbreaks have occurred must resume face-to-face instruction.

The announcement came after protests on the streets of several cities against the strict “zero COVID” policy, which enters its fourth year and which is accused of disrupting daily life, commuting and employment, as well as inflicting hard blow to the national economy.

China has tried to maintain the strict strategy without halting the economy, but public frustration with the restrictions seems to have changed the opinion of the authorities, who have defended the COVID-19 eradication policy as superior to the strategy of other countries that they lifted their measures in hopes of living with the virus.

New cases reported in China fell on Wednesday from a daily record of more than 40,000 in recent days to just 20,764 on Wednesday, the vast majority asymptomatic.

Under the new measures, the lockdown cannot last more than five days if no further cases are discovered, restrictions on the sale of cold medicines will be lifted and vaccination of the elderly will be increased.

Orders to transport companies and businesses to suspend their services will also be lifted, and more attention will be paid to public safety, not blocking emergency exits when confinement orders are imposed.

Recent protests have included calls for President Xi Jinping to resign. The demonstrations began on November 25 after at least 10 people were killed in a fire in an apartment building in Urumqi, in the northwest of the country.

Authorities denied reports that closed doors or other virus checks could have disrupted firefighters or fire victims. However, the disaster has become a catalyst for public frustration.

In its statement, the National Health Commission made no reference to the fire, the protests, or any formal abandonment of the “zero COVID” strategy, which has been closely associated with Xi’s authority. The policy kept most visitors out of China and disrupted manufacturing activity and global trade.

The authorities have been gradually lifting the restrictions for days.

The government last week announced plans to vaccinate millions of 70- and 80-year-olds, a condition of ending ‘zero COVID’ restrictions.

Health experts and economists warn that getting vaccination rates up to a sufficient level and preparing hospitals for a possible spike in infections could take until mid-2023 and possibly 2024.

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