China's COVID frustrations spark unrest

STORY: This is the latest outpouring of public resentment over coronavirus restrictions in China.

In a video posted on Twitter, people charged down streets and pleaded with white hazmat-suit-clad workers in the southern city of Guangzhou on Monday (November 14).

Twitter is blocked in China, and several hashtags related to the topic of "riots" in the area were scrubbed from China's social media site Weibo by Tuesday (November 15) morning.

Neither Guangzhou's city government nor the Guangdong provincial police responded to Reuters' request for comment.

China reported over 17,000 new local infections for Monday (November 14), the most cases since April.

But it also comes as many cities have scaled back routine testing.

And last week authorities announced measures aimed at easing the impact of the heavy coronavirus curbs.

On Tuesday, closed COVID test sites were seen in the capital Beijing.

Authorities moved some testing sites closer to residential compounds.

While that increased the number of sites, it also led to long waiting times for many, fuelling frustration, as many workplaces still require negative test results from within 24 hours.

The easing of restrictions has sparked hopes in business markets that China is signaling plans to end a policy that has shut its borders and caused frequent lockdowns.

But experts warn that full reopening requires a massive vaccination booster effort, and would also need a change in messaging in a country where COVID remains widely feared.