China announced on Wednesday. relaxation of restrictions It has been widely associated with Covid, emphasizing that some infections may be subject to home isolation measures and also lowering the requirement for PCR tests.
According to new guidelines published by the National Health Commission in Beijing, “asymptomatic patients and patients with mild symptoms who are eligible for home isolation are subject to home isolation.” The authorities will “limit the scope of nucleic acid testing and reduce the frequency of testing.”
Mandatory mass screenings, often seen as a burdensome condition of China’s COVID-19 policy, will be limited to “high-risk” neighborhoods and schools.
Under the new rules, travelers between regions will no longer be required to present a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours, as well as to take a test upon arrival.
The announcement comes after rare demonstrations around the country to protest against the harsh containment of Covid.
And Beijing Airport announced that as of yesterday, Tuesday, December 6, 2022, it has stopped the mandatory provision of negative coronavirus test results for arrivals.
China’s National Health Commission said there were 28,062 new cases of coronavirus on Dec. 5, of which 5,046 were symptomatic and 23,016 were asymptomatic, Reuters reported.
China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the latest major country to try to stop transmission through quarantines, closures and mass testing.
Concerns about vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, are believed to figure prominently in the ruling Communist Party’s determination to stick to its tough Covid-19 strategy, as some fear that millions of people will die if restrictions are lifted entirely. .
And Chinese cities, including Urumqi in the far west, announced easing of restrictions put in place to combat the Corona virus on Sunday as China tries to make its Covid zero policy more accurate on outbreaks and less worrisome after unusual protests over restrictions last week. . .
Authorities said Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region where the first protests took place, has reopened shopping malls, markets, restaurants and other venues since Monday after months of strict closures.
Wednesday’s announcement came just hours after the government released data showing the negative economic impact of a zero-Covid policy.
Imports and exports fell in November to levels not recorded since early 2020.
Imports fell 10.6% year-on-year in November, the biggest decline since May 2020, according to the General Administration of Customs. Exports fell 8.7 percent over the same period.
