Published on: 07/12/2022 – 07:20 am Modified on: 07/12/2022 – 08:46 am
After easing restrictions in several Chinese cities following massive protests against the government’s “zero-Covid” policy, Beijing on Wednesday announced further easing of rules across the country.
China says goodbye to its “zero Covid” policy. Beijing on Wednesday, December 7, announced a general relaxation of anti-Covid-19 health regulations, allowing certain positive cases to conduct their quarantine at home and reducing the use of general PCR tests following historic demonstrations of anger across the country .
This reversal appears to end most of the nearly three-year “zero Covid” policy that China was one of the last countries in the world to adopt.
This strategy includes repeated lockdowns, large-scale PCR testing of the population, and lengthy quarantines for any arrival from abroad, enough to disrupt daily life and severely penalize the economy.
His relief comes ten days after a wave of demonstrations of unprecedented proportions since pro-democracy mobilizations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
In a dozen cities across the country, the mostly young demonstrators had shouted their fatigue at the harsh health policies, some even calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
The latter, who had made “zero Covid” his trademark, has now changed his speech, acknowledging that the less deadly Omicron variant “paves the way for more flexibility in restrictions”.
Fewer large-scale tests
According to the new guidance from the National Health Commission (NHC) – which has the value of a ministry – “asymptomatic infected people and mild cases that can be isolated at home will generally be”.
This is a dramatic change from the previous norm, where every positive case had to be taken to a quarantine center.
In addition, the country will “continue to reduce the scope of nucleic acid testing and reduce its frequency,” while previously urging residents to get tested several times a week to gain access to all public places.
Large-scale testing is now only being carried out in “high-risk schools, hospitals, nursing homes and work centers”.
>> Read on France24.com: In China zero tolerance of demonstrators for “Zero Covid”
The application of lockdown restrictions, sometimes applied to neighborhoods or even entire cities, will also be reduced as risk areas that have had no cases recorded for five days will have to reopen.
China will also speed up vaccinating the elderly, its vulnerability that previously prevented it from relaxing its health regulations.
Another novelty announced on Wednesday: it will now be possible to travel from one Chinese province to another without having to present a negative PCR test that is less than 48 hours old and is also on arrival no test required.
Immediately after the announcement of these new measures, travel searches on the Ctrip application increased by 160%, an AFP journalist noted.
A ‘zero Covid’ burdened economy
“Schools without a fall home must continue classes normally,” the new rules say, while many schools in Beijing have been closed as a precaution in recent weeks.
The announcement comes hours after the official release of worrying new numbers for the world’s second largest economy. In November, China saw its exports and imports collapse under the combined effect of its health care policies and sluggish demand.
>> See also: Chinese economy suffers from Beijing’s “zero Covid” policy
While the Chinese economy should have posted one of its worst growth performances in four decades this year, getting out of “zero Covid” is a tricky proposition.
“Finding the right balance between Covid-19 control measures and economic growth has once again become a key issue,” economist Wang Zhe warned on Monday.
This national easing of restrictions follows easing announced by several Chinese cities and provinces in recent days.
Beijing announced on Tuesday that parks, office buildings or even shops, including supermarkets, will no longer require submission of a negative PCR test, a measure also used in Shanghai, which was under long-term lockdown last spring.
With AFP