China is relaxing but not ending COVID curbs
Several Chinese cities eased some COVID-zero restrictions over the weekend, adding to the list of signals that Beijing is loosening up on the strictest measures in its pandemic policy. But it’s still not clear what will happen next.
Chinese authorities continued to loosen up on COVID-zero restrictions over the weekend, fueling expectations that Beijing is gradually exiting its years-long pandemic policy amid a growing number of cases and rare public protests.
At least a dozen Chinese cities eased controls over the weekend, even as COVID case numbers continue to increase around the country.
- Shenzhen and Shanghai dropped PCR testing requirements for commuters taking public transportation, following similar moves by Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, and Chongqing.
- Urumqi, where 10 deaths from an apartment fire sparked a wave of protests against COVID zero around China, will reopen malls, restaurants, and other venues starting today.
- Beijing may also add 10 new COVID-19 easing measures as early as Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The new rules strike “a new balance between epidemic control and social livelihoods,” state tabloid Global Times said in an article published yesterday (and republished today by the Communist Party’s in-house newspaper the People’s Daily), though it insisted that it “should not be viewed as ‘lying flat’ in China’s COVID battle or ‘suddenly opening by loosening all COVID restrictions.’”
- State-run news agency Xinhua also published remarks from the World Health Organization (WHO) saying that the world was “much closer” to ending the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the spread of the Omicron variant.
- At-home rapid tests will be a crucial alternative to mass laboratory testing as local authorities wind down blanket PCR requirements, Féng Zǐjiàn 冯子健, the former deputy chief at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Paper in an interview published today.
- Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Youth League, a Party-run organization whose members are aspiring government officials aged 14 to 28, gave a rare response to the recent protests on its official WeChat account on Sunday: “In the past few days, there have been quite a lot of opinions about local epidemic controls. The incident has initially subsided through prompt communication and improvements,” it said per the Wall Street Journal.
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The ease in restrictions follows the strongest signals to date from Chinese authorities last week that the country may slowly transition away from its strictest measures, including remarks from Vice Premier and COVID tsar Sūn Chūnlán 孙春兰.
- “It’s become increasingly clear this week that China is entering a new phase of COVID control,” said Zichen Wang, the voice behind the newsletter Pekingnology.
- However, vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, have yet to reach a high-enough level before the country can fully open back up: China’s National Health Commission (NHC) earlier vowed (in Chinese) to increase vaccination rates among the elderly, while also urging local governments to avoid excessive responses to COVID lockdowns.
