People with Covid who have mild or no symptoms can now quarantine at home, but PCR tests are still required to enter many places
People line up for a PCR test for Covid-19 in Chaoyang, Beijing.In the strongest sign so far that China is rolling back on its long-running zero-Covid policy, the national health commission said on that people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms can
. The directive also instructed officials to halt temporary lockdowns and ended testing and health code requirements for people entering Beijing.This is a significant step in China’s iron-fisted “war” against the Covid pandemic. But although officials have further eased restrictions and stopped using the term “dynamic zero-Covid” in their public speeches, many people inare reporting that restrictions still remain in many places. Experts say it is a process that will likely take several months.
“The ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy is still in place officially, though most of the most hated restrictions have been lifted. This is getting close to zero-Covid in name only but there is still scope for restrictions to be reintroduced if necessary,” said Prof Steve Tsang, the director of the Soas China Institute at London University.
Prof William Hurst, deputy director at the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, said: “What we have seen in the past several days is a rollback of some of the harshest baseline measures in some places … We’re also seeing a gradual shift in rhetoric coming from the centre.
A man carries his release papers as he leaves after being released from a government quarantine facility on in Beijing, China, 7 December 2022.Hurst said the new measures suggested the authorities could be aiming to ease most restrictions by Chinese New Year on 22 January.No. Negative PCR tests were still required for entering many places, such as nurseries and schools, hospitals, nursing homes, bars and other entertainment venues.
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