The communist regime in China is relaxing some of its strict "zero-COVID" policies after anti-lockdown protests in major Chinese cities led to violent clashes with state authorities.
China's National Health Commission said Wednesday that people with asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and those with mild symptoms may now isolate at home instead of being forced into a state-run quarantine facility. Additionally, authorities are loosening testing requirements and travel restrictions within the country, according to a 10-point plan released by the health authority.
"Asymptomatic persons and mild cases can be isolated at home while strengthening health monitoring, and they can transfer to designated hospitals for treatment in a timely manner if their condition worsens," the NHC said.
Further, in a dramatic shift, lockdowns will now be limited to individual apartment floors and buildings instead of entire districts or neighborhoods. Nucleic acid test checking on a smartphone app is no longer required to travel to most venues, excepting nurseries, elderly homes and schools. Restrictions on the purchase of over-the-counter cold and flu medications have been also lifted. Businesses will be permitted to re-open in "non-high risk areas." Additionally, schools have been instructed to reinstate in-person learning where there are no outbreaks of the virus.
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The latest changes are "small steps" in a gradual process aimed at ending restrictions, said Liang Wannian, a member of an experts group advising the National Health Commission, at a news conference.
"We will look at it, study and judge, and analyze again," said Liang, one of China’s most prominent anti-epidemic experts.
The government’s goal is "to return to the state before the epidemic, but the realization of the goal must have conditions," Liang said.
These changes bring China in step with the rest of the world, as countries have transitioned away from emergency pandemic restrictions and are learning to live with COVID-19.
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However, China did not reverse its policies until protests erupted following the deaths of at least 10 people who were trapped in an apartment building that caught fire while in lockdown. The people who burned alive could not escape the building because fire exits were reportedly blocked by pandemic barriers.
Public outrage over the deaths was expressed in widespread mass demonstrations against China's draconian "zero-COVID" policy. In Shanghai, some protesters shouted the politically explosive demand for Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s most influential figure in decades, to resign.
Videos posted to social media showed police dragging protesters into custody and dispersing demonstrations with pepper spray and other anti-riot tactics. A BBC journalist covering the protests was arrested and allegedly beaten by police, and law enforcement in hazmat suits were deployed to violently crack down on protesters in Guangzhou.
China has not officially said the changes in COVID-19 policies were in response to the protests. The easing is in line with promises to reduce the human cost of "zero-COVID," including changes announced before the protests that included shorter quarantines for travelers from abroad.
Still, the changes come as Chinese authorities have reported an increase in COVID-19 infections that began in October. On Wednesday, the government reported 25,231 new cases, including 20,912 without symptoms.
Xi’s government has held up "zero-COVID" as proof of the superiority of China’s system compared with the United States and Western countries. China’s official death toll is 5,235 since the start of the pandemic versus a U.S. count of 1.1 million.
Beijing has not revoked its goal of ending transmission of the virus, which has killed 6.6 million people worldwide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
