The local health official stated that 89% of the population was infected with the virus on January 6th. After three years of draconian restrictions, China abruptly lifted most of its COVID-19 health measures last month. He did so after mass protests across the country sparked by a skyscraper fire in the Xinjiang region that killed 10 people and was indirectly caused by the lockdown for many Chinese. Since the relaxation of the so-called “zero Covid” policy, there have been reports of overcrowded crematoria. The number of infected citizens has increased exponentially, while the healthcare system is overwhelmed by elderly patients who are hospitalized or cared for.
The government stopped publishing figures on new infections and reported only two deaths on Saturday. The authorities also ordered the suspension of 1,000 social media accounts criticizing the handling of the pandemic.
China reopens borders, end of mandatory quarantine – In the meantime, China has reopened its borders to foreigners for the first time since anti-Covid restrictions were imposed in March 2020. Incoming travelers are no longer forced into quarantine. At the airports, hugs between families who have been separated for some time, but all with masks. The reopening coincides with the start of the “chunyun,” literally “spring shift,” to which millions of people travel and was believed to be the largest migration of people before the pandemic. An estimated 400,000 people will relocate from Hong Kong alone in the coming weeks.