China signals ease in Covid policy after mass protests

Dozens of districts in China appear to have shifted their stance on Covid as restrictions are eased despite high daily case numbers. 

Dozens of districts in Shanghai and Guangzhou – two cities with rising cases, were released from lockdown measures on Thursday. 

The move comes after an unprecedented weekend of violence in China, as citizens took to the street to protest the country’s zero-Covid policy. 

The unrest was triggered by a fire in a high-rise block of flats that killed 20 people. Many Chinese people believe the Covid restrictions in the city contributed to the deaths, although authorities have denied this. 

The days of widespread protesting was met with a heavy police presence at planned protests. It stamped out many protests but not all.

Guangzhou – a major city – saw its restrictions lifted on Wednesday, hours after the city saw violent protests that resulted in clashes between police and protesters. 

A community in the capital Beijing also allowed Covid cases with mild symptoms to isolate at home, according to a Reuters report – a far cry from protocols earlier this year which saw entire buildings and communities locked down, sometimes as a result of just one positive case.

Shanghai and Chongqing, who other major cities, saw some Covid rules relaxed as well. 

Covid cases in China 

China’s vice-premier Sun Chunlan, said the virus’ ability to cause disease was weakening.

“The country is facing a new situation and new tasks in epidemic prevention and control as the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus weakens, more people are vaccinated and experience in containing the virus is accumulated,” she said, according to a Reuters report.

It’s a very different approach to the earlier message that China needed to maintain a strict zero-Covid policy. 

Former state media editor Hu Xijin, who now offers pro-Communist Party commentary on Twitter, insisted the moves showed China was now “speeding up to cast aside large-scale lockdowns”.