Coronavirus Lockdown in China: Chinese Government Announces Roll-Back of Strict Anti-COVID-19 Restrictions
People who test positive for the virus will be able to isolate at home rather than in overcrowded and unsanitary field hospitals, and schools where there have been no outbreaks must return to in-class teaching.
Beijing, December 7: In a sharp reversal, China has announced a series of measures rolling back some of the most draconian anti-COVID-19 restrictions. The Wednesday announcement includes limiting the scale of lockdown to individual apartment floors and buildings, rather than entire districts and neighbourhoods. China President Xi Jinping Visiting Saudi Arabia Amid Bid to Boost Economy.
People who test positive for the virus will be able to isolate at home rather than in overcrowded and unsanitary field hospitals, and schools where there have been no outbreaks must return to in-class teaching.
The announcement follows recent street protests in several cities over the strict “zero-COVID” policy now entering its fourth year, which has been blamed for upending ordinary life, travel and employment while dealing a harsh blow to the national economy. China Will Further Relax Covid Measures, Including Allowing Some Infected People to Home.
China has sought to maintain the hardline policy while keeping the world's second-largest economy humming, but public frustration with the restrictions appears to have finally swayed the opinion of officials who had championed zero-COVID as superior to the approach of foreign nations that have opened up in hopes of learning to live with the virus.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)