China on Wednesday lifted several preventative measures against Covid-19, including isolation in designated facilities of all positive cases, signaling the end of its “zero cases” strategy, which has been a source of popular discontent.
The Council of State (Executive) announced that those who test positive for the virus can now comply with home isolation, instead of being sent to designated facilities, often in degrading conditions.
The announcement also mandates that schools where no outbreaks have been recorded must return to face-to-face education. Another measure aims to limit the scope of blockades to floors and buildings, rather than entire districts and neighbourhoods.
With the exception of hospitals, homes and schools, it is also no longer necessary to present a negative PCR test result to access public places, a requirement that came into effect in the Asian country in recent months.
The policy change comes on the heels of recent protests in several cities across the country against Covid-19’s “zero case” policy, which has spawned a succession of tragedies and cases of alleged abuses of power and imposed quarantine on arrivals for nearly three years. year abroad.
The protests were sparked by a deadly fire at a building in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi. Protesters say nearby blockades, as part of epidemic prevention measures, have slowed access for the fire truck. Residents were also unable to escape from the building, the door of which was blocked.
In the event of a positive contamination in a neighborhood or building, gates and access doors, including emergency exits, were often locked. Often the elevators were also turned off and aluminum plates were placed around the building or the neighborhood, which were guarded 24 hours a day by private security guards.
In the communiqué, the Council of State expressly forbade the “obstruction of ports”.
Authorities also called for “speeding up the vaccination of the elderly”, asking local governments to increase immunization rates among the elderly, one of the groups most vulnerable to death or serious illness, but also the most reluctant to to vaccinate. , in Asia country.
Discontent among the Chinese population has increased throughout the year as the Omicron variant, considered highly contagious, has plunged the country into a cycle of blockades with no end in sight.
This week, the Chinese Communist Youth League admitted that the repeal of some measures is in response to nationwide protests, in the first admission that Beijing is giving in to protesters’ demands.
“Different opinions have emerged in recent days about the local epidemic prevention strategy,” the League wrote on its official account on the social network WeChat, adding that the rapid policy changes show a level of responsiveness that would be “impossible” in any other place in the world.
During a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel last week, Chinese President Xi admitted that the protests reflected frustration over preventive measures against Covid-19.
Source: DN
