Anger over China\u2019s zero-COVID policy has sparked protests in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
\n BEIJING
\nChina\u2019s top COVID official and multiple cities have signalled a possible relaxing of the country\u2019s strict zero-tolerance approach to the virus, after nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedom.
\nAnger over China\u2019s zero-COVID policy \u2014 which involves mass lockdowns, constant testing and quarantines even for people who are not infected \u2014 has sparked protests in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
\nBut while authorities have called for a \u201ccrackdown\u201d in the wake of the demonstrations, they have also begun hinting that a relaxation of the hardline virus strategy could be in the works.
\nSpeaking at the National Health Commission Wednesday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said the Omicron variant was weakening and vaccination rates were improving, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
\nSun \u2014 a central figure behind Beijing\u2019s pandemic response \u2014 said this \u201cnew situation\u201d required \u201cnew tasks\u201d.
\nShe made no mention of the zero-COVID policy in her latest remarks, suggesting an approach that has disrupted the economy and daily life might soon be relaxed.
\nThe comments came as the Chinese capital said it would scale back daily testing requirements \u2014 a tedious mainstay of life under zero-COVID.
\nThe elderly, those who work from home, students and teachers in online education and others who do not leave home frequently are now exempt from daily tests, Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Government, said Wednesday.
\nBeijing residents still require a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours to enter public places such as cafes, restaurants and shopping malls, however.
\nAnd a report by the state-owned Southern Metropolis Daily Thursday said that local officials in Beijing and Guangzhou were planning to allow some positive COVID cases to quarantine at home instead of at state-run facilities.
\nThe report was later deleted, and AFP requests for confirmation from local authorities in those cities went unanswered.
\n\u2018Living with COVID\u2019
\nSouthern manufacturing-hub Guangzhou \u2014 the site of dramatic Tuesday night clashes between police and protesters \u2014 also announced an end to daily mass testing for those who do not need to leave home frequently, including the elderly and infants.
\nOn Thursday, Haizhu district, where recent protests took place, went a step further, saying only those in certain sectors including medical staff, pharmacists, sanitary and delivery workers require daily tests.
\nOfficials the previous day also partially lifted a weeks-long lockdown, despite seeing record virus cases, easing restrictions to varying degrees in all of its 11 districts, including Haizhu.
\nThe central city of Chongqing also said Wednesday that close contacts of COVID cases who met certain conditions would be allowed to quarantine at home \u2014 a departure from rules that required them to be sent to central isolation facilities.
\nSun\u2019s remarks \u2014 as well as relaxations of rules by local authorities \u2014 \u201ccould signal that China is beginning to consider the end of its stringent zero-COVID policy,\u201d ANZ Research analysts said.
\n\u201cWe believe that Chinese authorities are shifting to a \u201cliving with COVID\u201d stance, as reflected in new rules that allow people to do \u201chome isolation\u201d instead of being ferried away to quarantine facilities.\u201d
\nThe country reported 35,800 domestic COVID cases on Thursday, most of them asymptomatic.
\n\u2018Sign of weakness\u2019
\nAs China reaches the third anniversary of the pandemic first being detected in the central city of Wuhan, its hardline approach to the virus has stoked unrest not seen since the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
\nA deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of the northwestern region of Xinjiang, was the catalyst for the outrage, with people blaming COVID curbs for trapping victims inside the burning building.
\nBut demonstrators have also demanded wider political reforms, with some even calling for President Xi Jinping to stand down.
\nChina\u00b4s strict control of information and continued travel curbs have made verifying protester numbers across the vast country very challenging.
\nHowever, the widespread rallies seen over the weekend are exceptionally rare in China.
\nThe 1989 pro-democracy protests ended in bloodshed when the military moved in, most famously in Beijing\u00b4s Tiananmen Square and surrounding areas.
\nThe death on Wednesday of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin \u2014 who came to power just after Tiananmen \u2014 saw the ruling Communist Party emphasise his role in that crackdown.
\nAsked about the protests in an interview with NBC News, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that people in every country should be able to \u201cmake known their frustration\u201d through peaceful protests.
\n\u201cIn any country where we see that happening and then we see the government take massive repressive action to stop it, that\u2019s not a sign of strength, that\u2019s a sign of weakness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Anger over China\u2019s zero-COVID policy has sparked protests in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou BEIJING China\u2019s top COVID official and multiple cities have signalled a possible relaxing of the country\u2019s strict zero-tolerance approach to the virus, after nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedom. Anger over China\u2019s zero-COVID […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-298696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n