China Reverses Harshest Covid-19 Restrictions following Protests
China has lifted its strictest zero-Covid policies after protests challenging the draconian measures swept the nation.
Citizens who contract the virus and exhibit mild or no symptoms will no longer be required to check into a state facility to quarantine and can do so at home now, according to a ten-point order issued by the Chinese National Health Commission on Wednesday. Testing requirements for people traveling within China have also been dropped and officials were ordered to discontinue frequent arbitrary lockdowns. The order told officials to “more scientifically and accurately” demarcate “risk zones,” with a faster timeline for opening up high-risk zones after they have recovered.
Prior to the updates, China forced infected residents and their contacts to admit themselves to quarantine camps for weeks and prevented mobility in certain high-density areas, such as housing complexes and populous neighbors, experiencing high Covid-19 transmission.
“Asymptomatic persons and mild cases can be isolated at home while strengthening health monitoring, and they can transfer to designated hospitals for treatment in a timely manner if their condition worsens,” the NHC statement said, according to the Guardian.
Only industries deemed high risk such as assisted living, medicine, childcare, and education will require employees and entrants to test negative for the virus, according to the order. People will no longer be asked to present digital-health passes tracking their movement and testing history to access most venues or public transportation.
The ten-point plan also urged localities to ramp up vaccination rates among elderly people, a particularly vulnerable population.
“All localities should adhere to…. focus on improving the vaccination rate of people aged 60-79, accelerating the vaccination rate of people aged 80 and above, and making special arrangements,” the National Health Commission said.
China is reversing course after angry street demonstrations consumed major cities including Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing.
The unrest was triggered after an apartment fire in Urumqi, the capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, killed ten people and injured nine late last month. Public outrage ensued, as it was believed that quarantine measures either trapped the residents or slowed the dispatch of emergency services.
Some of the protesters went beyond simply calling for an end to Beijing’s zero-Covid approach, calling instead for the end of the Xi regime itself. Protesters chanted “Xi Jinping, step down” and “Communist party, step down,” with some flashing blank sheets of paper, symbols of resistance against state censorship.
Last week, before the ten-point plan, Beijing announced it would stop blocking access to apartment compounds in which people have tested positive for Covid-19.
