The Chinese authorities announced on December 7 a general relaxation of their strict policy known as ‘Covid zero’. Among the changes is allowing home quarantine and removing the requirement to test negative for the virus in some public places. It is a dramatic change in strategy that has generated an unprecedented spate of protests that included calls for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
After three years, China would be heading towards the end of the strict ‘Covid zero’ policy.
The Council of State announced on December 7 the new measures with which the Asian giant, and the country where the pandemic arose, will have to live with the virus from now on.
This is a general relaxation of sanitary rules and among the notable changes is allowing some infected people to quarantine in their homes, instead of being confined in hospitals and isolation centers as has happened for almost three years.
This measure applies to asymptomatic patients and with mild symptoms of the disease.
People with mild cases “can recover on their own without special medical attention,” said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Centers for Disease Control.
Likewise, the Government eliminates the requirement to present the results of a negative Covid-19 test to access some public places.
With the exception of places sensitive to the virus such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools, it will not be necessary to show a PCR test, a requirement that has been in force in recent months after the outbreak of the disease.
People who travel between provinces will also be exempt from presenting a negative PCR test and will not have to take a test upon arrival, according to the new rules.
The Chinese Executive also pointed out that the vaccination campaign for the elderly will be accelerated. According to official data, in the nation there are about 85 million people over the age of 60 who have not received the third booster dose of the antidotes. And only 65.8% of those over 80 years of age have the complete inoculation regimen.
Another of the big and main changes is the fact that residential complexes will no longer be completely locked down. Among the greatest extremes that were being applied by the authorities, the inhabitants of some areas were locked up for a handful of cases and those areas have been demarcated as high-risk places.
Under that measure, many people were locked in their homes while their doors were sealed with fences.
Just last November’s fateful fire in Xinjiang, where 10 residents died after being trapped in their apartments, was a disaster blamed on strict lockdown measures, though authorities deny this. That fact lit the fuse of social discontent.
Beijing eased its strict health policy after unprecedented wave of protests
The elimination of the frequency for carrying out anti-Covid-19 tests was already beginning to become more flexible in some cities, amid the unprecedented wave of protests that swept the country due to the exhaustion of regulations that restricted people’s daily lives and that have interrupted the production chains that have an impact on world trade.
The recent modifications are “small steps” in a gradual process aimed at ending the restrictions, Liang Wannian, a member of an expert group that advises the National Health Commission, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
However, some experts warn that the restrictions cannot be fully lifted until at least mid-2023, because millions of older people still need to be vaccinated and the health care system needs to be strengthened.
The unprecedented demonstrations that shook the nation even extended to calls for greater political freedoms and thousands called for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
A sensitive scenario for the head of state who had just revalidated his leadership and secured a new presidential term, after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party that took place last October in which he strengthened his doctrine.
The demonstrations marked the largest display of civil disobedience in the Asian giant since President Xi took power a decade ago.
China reduces the tone of danger in the face of Covid-19, while other countries register a rebound in cases
On Tuesday, December 6, hours before announcing the change in its approach to Covid-19, the National Health Commission reported that the number of cases decreased by detecting 25,312 new infections. In addition, he stated that the majority are asymptomatic cases.
A large part of the 4,409 infections that do present symptoms were caused by local transmission, with a special incidence in areas such as Canton, Beijing, Sichuan and Chongqing.
According to the authorities, there are currently 350,000 people throughout the country in isolation and under medical observation for being asymptomatic carriers of the virus.
The nation has suffered in recent months from waves of outbreaks attributed to the Omicron variant that have caused record numbers of infections not seen since the start of the pandemic in the first half of 2020.
China is the main country still trying to end the transmission of the virus, while many other nations are trying to live with the virus. As restrictions are lifted, Chinese officials have also shifted to talking about Covid-19 as a less threatening disease, a possible effort to prepare people for a change in perception of the health situation.
However, several countries register a rebound in infections. Nations like France have even reconsidered reinstating the obligation to wear masks.
In Latin America, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina have reported an increase in infections and some deaths caused by the virus during the last three weeks.
On Chinese soil, the restrictions have helped keep the number of cases within its borders low, but experts note that at the same time few people have developed natural immunity, a factor that could delay reopening plans if cases rise and the authorities feel compelled to re-impose restrictions.
Even so, after three years of an extreme health policy and warnings about the danger of the virus, the authorities are beginning to consider it less threatening, according to the provisions announced on December 7.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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