China recently announced a nationwide relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions

China announced on Wednesday a nationwide relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. Following protests against the hardline strategy that grew into calls for greater democratic rights
Some asymptomatic and mild Covid-19 cases can now be quarantined at home under the new guidelines, removing the requirement that all positive cases be isolated in centralised government facilities.

The National Health Commission announced new guidelines that will reduce the frequency and scope of PCR testing, which has long been a tedious part of life in zero-Covid China.

Lockdowns will also be reduced, and people with non-severe Covid cases will be able to isolate at home rather than at centralised government facilities.
In addition, except for “nursing homes, medical institutions, kindergartens, middle and high schools,” people will no longer be required to show a green health code on their phone to enter public buildings and spaces.
The new regulations eliminate forced quarantines for people who have no symptoms or have mild cases.
The new rules state that “asymptomatic infected persons and mild cases who are eligible for home isolation are generally isolated at home, or they can voluntarily choose centralised isolation for treatment.”

“Mass PCR testing will be limited to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and high-risk work units; the scope and frequency of PCR testing will be reduced further,” they added.
“People travelling across provinces are exempt from providing a 48-hour test result and from testing upon arrival.”
China will also speed up vaccination of the elderly, which has long been regarded as a major impediment to Beijing’s relaxation of its anti-Covid stance.
Late last month, rare protests against the ruling Communist Party’s zero-Covid strategy erupted across China.

They grew into demands for greater political freedoms, with some even calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation.
Authorities cracked down on subsequent protests while loosening a number of restrictions, with some Chinese cities tentatively lifting mass testing and movement restrictions.
Beijing’s capital, where many businesses have fully reopened, announced this week that commuters no longer needed to show a negative virus test taken within 48 hours to use public transportation.

Shanghai, which experienced a brutal two-month lockdown earlier this year, announced the same rules, allowing residents to enter outdoor venues such as parks and tourist attractions without a recent test.

And, after a period of doom and gloom coverage of the virus’s dangers and scenes of pandemic chaos abroad, China’s tightly controlled media dramatically shifted tone to support a cautious shift away from zero-Covid.

“After infection with the Omicron variant, the vast majority will have no or light symptoms, and very few will progress to severe symptoms,” he assured readers.
However, analysts at the Japanese firm Nomura calculated on Monday that 53 cities, home to nearly a third of China’s population, still had some restrictions in place.
The announcement came just hours after the government released new data demonstrating the crippling economic effects of zero-Covid.
Imports and exports fell to levels not seen since early 2020 in November.

According to the General Administration of Customs, imports fell 10.6% year on year in November, the largest drop since May 2020. Over the same period, exports fell 8.7 percent.