China to relax Covid restrictions after protests
BEIJING: China’s top Covid official and multiple cities have signalled a possible relaxing of the country’s strict zero-tolerance approach to the virus, after nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedom.
Anger over China’s zeroCovid policy — which involves mass lockdowns, constant testing and quarantines even for people who are not infected -has sparked protests in major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
But while authorities have called for a “crackdown” in the wake of the demonstrations, they have also begun hinting that a relaxation of the hardline virus strategy could be in the works.
Speaking at the National Health Commission on Wednesday, vice premier Sun Chunlan said the Omicron variant was weakening and vaccination rates were improving, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, and added that this “new situation” required “new tasks”.