Beijing no longer requires negative COVID test to enter many public spaces
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A demonstrator holds a blank sign and chants slogans during a protest in Beijing on Nov. 28. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
The demonstrations that rocked many Chinese cities last week were quickly suppressed but succeeded in getting China's leaders to rework the zero-COVID policy they've implemented for almost three years.
Why it matters: Loosened restrictions will relieve the hardship and uncertainty that many Chinese people have faced and could boost a struggling economy. But an end to zero-COVID will also mean a surge in COVID cases, serious illness and deaths.
Driving the news: Beijing municipal authorities announced on Tuesday that a negative COVID test would no longer be required for admittance to many public spaces, including grocery stores, parks and airports, per Reuters.
- For the first time, Chinese state media began portraying COVID-19 as a less serious illness that typically causes only mild symptoms.
- Health authorities in cities across China said they would allow people who have tested positive to quarantine at home instead of in a centralized quarantine facility.
- Commuters in many cities will no longer need a negative COVID test to travel.
State of play: The country is currently a patchwork of varying levels of restrictions, and many people still feel restrained.
- In November, health authorities announced 20 guidelines to ease pandemic restrictions, including reducing quarantine times and allowing people who test negative to quarantine at home.
- But those guidelines were inconsistently implemented, leading to frustration and impatience.
- Students at Nanjing Tech University protested on Monday night after the campus locked down when just one COVID case was discovered.
Between the lines: Low vaccination rates among China's elderly had contributed to the authorities' stated goal of keeping COVID cases as low as possible.
- But the number of elderly who have received vaccinations has doubled since April, when just 20% were vaccinated. About 40% of elderly people had received jabs as of November.
- Even so, China's population is vaccinated entirely with Chinese-made vaccines that use a different technology than Western-made mRNA vaccines, which are more effective at preventing serious disease. Chinese authorities have not permitted the country's citizens to receive foreign-made vaccines.
Meanwhile, the crackdown on dissent has continued. Chinese police began using the country's vast surveillance apparatus to track down protesters.
- Chinese authorities in charge of internet censorship also ordered an "emergency response" to scrub online spaces of support for the protests and criticism of the government.
What to watch: China's health authorities may announce 10 additional guidelines for easing pandemic restrictions, building on those announced last month, Reuters reports.
- But China's health care system lacks the capacity to deal with a sudden surge in serious illness, leading to concerns that a spike in cases could overwhelm hospitals.
