BEIJING (AP) — China rolled back rules on isolating people with COVID-19 and dropped virus testing requirements for some public places on Wednesday in a sea change from a strategy that confined millions of people in their homes and sparked protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to step down.
China has imposed some of the toughest restrictions in the worlddisrupting global manufacturing and trade and the lives of ordinary Chinese people, while many countries have taken to trying to live with the virus.
The National Health Commission’s latest announcement is the second relaxation of rules following a Nov. 11 change that fueled hopes the Communist Party would abandon its “zero COVID” strategy. Experts warn, however, that with millions of older people still to be vaccinated, it will be until mid-2023 or later before restrictions can be fully lifted.
Low infection rates in China also mean few people have developed natural immunity, a factor that could delay reopening plans if cases spike and authorities feel pressured to reimpose restrictions.
The easing is in line with promises to reduce the human cost of “zero COVID”, including changes announced before the protests that included shorter quarantines for travelers from overseas. The latest measures have been highly publicized – a possible effort to assuage public anger – but it was unclear if this was a response to the protests.
Under the new rules, people with mild cases will for the first time be allowed to self-isolate at home instead of going to sometimes overcrowded or unsanitary quarantine centres. This responds to a major irritation that led to the outpouring of anger.
Public facilities, with the exception of “special places,” such as schools, hospitals and nursing homes, will no longer require visitors to produce a “health code” on a smartphone app that tracks their tests of the virus and whether they have been to areas deemed to be at high risk of infection, the government said.
Local officials must “take strict and detailed measures to protect people’s lives, safety and health” but at the same time “minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development”, the statement said.
The latest changes are “small steps” in a gradual process to end restrictions, Liang Wannian, a member of an expert panel advising the National Health Commission, told a news conference.
“We will examine it, study it, judge it and analyze it again,” said Liang, one of China’s most prominent anti-epidemic experts.
The government’s goal is “to return to the pre-epidemic state, but achieving the goal must have conditions,” Liang said.
Restrictions imposed by China have helped keep case numbers low, but public frustration is growing as millions are repeatedly confined to their homes during uncertain times, schools close abruptly and economic growth falls.
The changes were rolled out despite a new spike in infections that began in October. On Wednesday, the government reported 25,231 new cases, including 20,912 without symptoms.
Xi’s government has brandished “zero COVID” as proof of the superiority of the Chinese system over the United States and Western countries. The official death toll in China is 5,235 since the start of the pandemic, compared to 1.1 million in the United States.
There was no indication that Beijing was abandoning its goal of trying to stamp out transmission of the virus, which has killed at least 6.6 million people worldwide.
China is the latest major country still trying to do so, while the United States and other governments have eased travel and other restrictions.
A Deputy Prime Minister, Sun Chunlan, said last week that the latest variants were less likely to cause disease. This suggests the government may be preparing to declare COVID-19 a less severe disease, which could lead to a less drastic response, but this has not been confirmed.
The government last week announced a campaign to vaccinate the elderly that health experts say must be carried out before China can end restrictions on visitors from overseas. They say the ruling party must also strengthen China’s hospital system to deal with a possible increase in cases.
Rules were left in place warning that apartment and office buildings could be sealed off in the event of an infection. Complaints that families are confined for weeks with uncertain access to food and medicine have been a major driver of the protests.
Earlier this year, the ruling party decided to suspend access to neighborhoods or districts where infections were discovered instead of isolating entire towns.
On Wednesday, the government said the scope of the closures would be further reduced to apartment floors or buildings instead of neighborhoods.
He said schools in communities without outbreaks must return to in-person instruction.
It seemed to be a response to complaints that local leaders, threatened with losing their jobs in the event of an epidemic, are imposing destructive closures, could be unnecessary and exceed what the central government allows.
Demonstrations in at least eight major cities and on dozens of college campuses have been the most widespread display of public dissent in decades. In Shanghai, some protesters shouted the politically explosive demand for the resignation of Xi, China’s most influential figure in decades.
