Cases nationwide remain near record highs, but the changes come as some cities have lifted lockdowns in recent days and a top official said the virus’s ability to cause disease is waning. Health authorities who announced the easing in their regions did not mention the protests – China’s biggest show of civil disobedience in years, which have ranged from candlelight vigils in Beijing to street clashes with police in Guangzhou. The measures to be unveiled include a reduction in mass testing and routine nucleic acid tests and moves to allow isolation of positive cases and close contacts at home under certain circumstances, sources familiar with the matter said. This is a far cry from previous protocols that led to public frustration as entire communities were locked down, sometimes for weeks, after even one positive case. Frustration boiled over last week in demonstrations of public disobedience unseen in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012 and comes as the economy is set to enter a new era of much slower growth than seen here and decades.
CHANGE OF RULES
Less than 24 hours after violent protests in Guangzhou on Tuesday, authorities in at least seven regions of the sprawling manufacturing hub said they were lifting temporary lockdowns. One district said it would allow schools, restaurants and businesses, including movie theaters, to reopen. Cities including Chongqing and Zhengzhou also announced relaxations. Adding to the sense of a change in direction, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is overseeing the COVID effort, said the virus’s ability to cause disease is weakening, state media reported. “The country faces a new situation and new tasks in epidemic prevention and control as the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus weakens, more people are vaccinated and experience has been accumulated in containing the virus,” Sun said in comments reported in state media. Sun also urged further “optimization” of testing, treatment and quarantine policies. The report of a weakened pathogenicity contradicts previous messages from authorities about the final status of the virus. “Sun’s speech, in addition to the notable easing of coronavirus control measures in Guangzhou yesterday, sends another strong signal that the zero-Covid-19 policy will end in the coming months,” Nomura analysts said in a research note. “These two events may point to the beginning of the end of zero COVID-19.” In the capital, Beijing, some communities are beginning to prepare for change. A community in the city’s east is conducting an online poll this week about the possibility of positive cases being isolated at home, residents said. “I certainly welcome the decision by our residential community to go ahead with this vote regardless of the outcome,” said resident Tom Simpson, managing director for China at the China-Britain Business Council. He said his main concern was being forced into a quarantine facility, where “conditions can be bleak to say the least.” Prominent nationalist commentator Hu Xijin said in a social media post on Wednesday that many asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus in Beijing are already in quarantine at home.
REOPENING NEXT YEAR?
Expectations have grown around the world that China, while still trying to contain infections, could look to reopen its borders sometime next year once it achieves better vaccination rates among its reluctant elderly. Health experts warn of widespread illness and death if COVID is allowed to run its course before vaccination is ramped up. Chinese shares and markets around the world initially fell after weekend protests in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities, but later rebounded on hopes that public pressure could lead to a new approach from authorities. More COVID outbreaks could weigh on China’s economic activity in the short term, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, adding that it saw room for a safe recalibration of policies that could allow economic growth to pick up in 2023. China’s tight containment measures have curbed domestic economic activity this year and are spreading to other countries through supply chain disruptions. After dismal data in an official survey on Wednesday, the Caixin/S&P Global PMI showed factory activity contracted in November for a fourth straight month. read more While the shift in tone on COVID appears to be a response to public discontent with crackdowns, authorities are also looking to question those attending the protests. The China Dissent Monitor, which is run by the US-funded Freedom House, estimates that at least 27 protests took place across China from Saturday to Monday. Australia’s ASPI think tank counted 51 protests in 24 cities. Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Kevin Huang and Ellen Zhang in Beijing. Written by Marius Zaharia and John Geddie. Edited by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
