Covid-19 restrictions have been eased after unprecedented protests by the Chinese government against the extremely strict lockdown.
According to the foreign news agency AFP, under the new guidelines, people who have mild symptoms of Coronavirus infection could be quarantined at home. The announcement of new guidelines by the National Health Commission said that the lengthy procedure for PCR testing has also been relaxed.
Apart from this, the lockdown period will also be reduced and those who have mild symptoms of Corona have been instructed to stay in home quarantine instead of government centres. People who do not have symptoms must have a green health code on mobile phones to go to hospitals, kindergartens, middle and high schools as well as public places.
Under the new guidelines, people who have very little or no symptoms of Corona will not be forcibly quarantined and such people can be quarantined at home or choose a central quarantine centre at will. In addition mass, PCR testing will be done only in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and high-risk work units while the pace of PCR testing will be reduced.
Those who want to travel outside the province will not need to get a corona test done at the airport nor will it be mandatory to show a corona negative test 48 hours ago. According to the National Health Commission vaccination among elderly people will be expedited.
It should be noted that a few days ago people took to the streets against corona restrictions in China, protested against the government’s measures in Urumqi and Beijing and shouted slogans rejecting the government’s zero Covid policy.
The protests were so intense that many protesters even demanded the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
In China’s capital Beijing where businesses are fully open they will no longer be required to show a corona negative test for the last 48 hours under the new guidelines. In addition, these rules will also apply in Shanghai where residents can go to parks and tourist areas without getting a corona test 48 hours in advance.
However, a Japanese analyst has said that 53 Chinese cities still have strict restrictions.
