With the new surge in cases, a growing number of areas are shutting down businesses and imposing curbs on movement. “Zero-COVID” has kept China’s infection rate relatively low but weighs on the economy and has disrupted life by shutting schools, factories and shops, or sealing neighbourhoods without warning. Formerly, two tests within that time period were required. Those flying to China will only need to show a single negative test for the virus within 48 hours of travelling, the rules said. Relaxed standards would also be applied to foreign business workers and athletes, in what appeared to be a gradual move towards normalisation.Īirlines will no longer be threatened with a two-week-long suspension of flights if five or more passengers tested positive, the regulations said, potentially providing a huge expansion of seats on such flights that have shrunk in numbers and soared in price since restrictions were imposed in 2020. It was not immediately clear when and where the rules would take effect and whether they would apply to foreigners and Chinese citizens alike. Incoming passengers will only be quarantined for five days – rather than the previous seven – at a designated location, followed by three days of isolation at their place of residence, according to a notice from the State Council, China’s Cabinet. Chinese leaders had promised on Thursday to respond to public frustration over its severe “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions to their homes and severely disrupted the economy. Lockdowns in Guangzhou and elsewhere were due to end by Sunday, but authorities have repeatedly extended such restrictions with no explanation.
Police code zero drivers#
Taxi and ride-sharing drivers said they were avoiding the areas so as not to be placed in quarantine themselves. Numerous villages on the capital’s outskirts are home to blue-collar workers whose labour keeps the city running, with many living in dormitory communities. “My life is for sure not comparable to what it was three years ago,” said Ying.įamily trips out of Beijing can be difficult if the mandatory smartphone app that keeps track of the user’s virus test status and whereabouts does not show the green code that authorises travel back to the Chinese capital, Ying said. “I think what it impacts most is kids because they need to go to school.”ĭemands for testing every 24 to 48 hours are “troublesome,” said Ying Yiyang, who works in marketing. “It has become normal, just like eating and sleeping,” said food service worker Yang Zheng, aged 39. Videos on social media showed people in some areas protesting or fighting with police and health workers. Many city schools switched to online classes, hospitals restricted services and some shops and restaurants were shuttered, with their staff taken to quarantine. With the bulk of Beijing’s 21 million people undergoing near-daily testing, another 118 new cases were recorded in the sprawling city. The country reported 10,729 new cases, and more than five million people were confined to their homes in the southern manufacturing hub Guangzhou and the western megacity Chongqing. The announcement on Friday came even as an surge in COVID-19 cases prompted Beijing to close parks and impose other restrictions. Travellers arriving in China will spend less time in quarantine under changes to sweeping anti-COVID-19 controls intended to reduce disruption to the economy and society.
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