China eases some Covid measures

Two new deaths amid fears for vulnerable public

China yesterday reported two additional deaths from Covid-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease antipandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations.

The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan.

No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated.

China, where the virus first was detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the last major country trying to stop transmission completely through quarantines, lockdowns and mass testing.

Concerns over vaccination rates are believed to figure prominently in the ruling Communist Party’s determination to stick to its hard-line strategy.

While nine in 10 Chinese have been vaccinated, only 66 per cent of people over 80 have gotten one shot while 40 per cent have received a booster, according to the commission. It said 86 per cent of people over 60 are vaccinated.

Given those figures and the fact that relatively few Chinese have been built up antibodies by being exposed

to the virus, some fear millions could die if restrictions were lifted entirely.

Yet, an outpouring of public anger appears to have prompted authorities

to lift some of the more onerous restrictions, even as they say the “zero-covid” strategy — which aims to isolate and test every infected person — is still in place.

The demonstrations, the largest and most widely spread in decades, erupted November 25 after a fire in an apartment building in the northwestern city of Urumqi killed at least 10 people.

Beijing and some other Chinese cities announced that riders can board buses and subways without a virus test for the first time in months.

The requirement has led to complaints from some Beijing residents that even though the city has shut many testing stations, most public venues still require Covid-19 tests.

Yesterday, China announced another 35,775 cases from the past 24 hours, 31,607 of which were asymptomatic, bringing its total to 336,165 with 5235 deaths. —AP