Several Chinese cities canceled the massive covid regime this week, days after Beijing announced limited relaxations of its strict zero-covid policy that raised hopes of an eventual reopening of China.
The National Health Commission (NHC) published on Friday 20 regulations to “optimize” zero covid, where some restrictions have been relaxed to restrict its social and economic impact.
China on Wednesday reported more than 20,000 new infections, the tally since April, with primary outbreaks in the cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing.
Routine mass PCR checks are one of the main pieces of equipment used to detect outbreaks, and cities such as Beijing and Shanghai require citizens to show 72-hour screening effects to enter public spaces and use public transport.
But many complain that this wastes time and leads to long queues that increase the threat of transmission, while the loose testing operation has put a huge strain on local government budgets.
Shanghai on Sunday abolished mandatory Mass in the city’s district, China News Service reported, bringing up unnamed local officials.
However, officials warned that it “will take place when the source of infection and the chain of transmission are unclear, and it has been spreading on the network for a long time,” echoing the language of the NHC announcement.
Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million people in the northern province of Hebei, also pledged on Sunday to implement all 20 measures in an open letter to residents.
China Newsweek reported that the regime’s mass testing had been canceled for “key groups,” bringing up local officials.
Residents would still want a 72-hour verification result to use public transport and key sites such as hotels, according to local media.
The head of the Shijiazhuang Communist Party reiterated Monday that the new measures are neither “flat” nor a “total relaxation,” after Weibo’s hashtag “Prevention of Shijiazhuang Epidemic” went viral.
Social media users reacted with joy but also concern, with many complaining Wednesday that packages may be sent from the city due to strict virus controls through other local governments.
“I’m speechless, why don’t you open the whole country instead of Shijiazhuang as an experimental site?” wrote a local resident on Weibo.
“We can’t travel anywhere else and packages are delivered here, I can’t leave the city to take an exam, it sucks. “
Other cities, such as Yanji in the northeastern province of Jilin and Hefei in the eastern province of Anhui, also canceled the regime mass earlier this week.
The new regulations state that “the scope of nucleic acid testing will not be expanded” and that mass testing will not be conducted in epidemic-free areas, with the exception of the “key body of workers and workplaces. “
The measures also suggested local governments “correct unscientific practices such as two or 3 tests a day. “
The northwestern Xinjiang city of Ghulja will resume life and general activities on Wednesday, the local government said, lifting a harsh three-month blockade plagued by food shortages.