Chinese cities ease anti-covid measures, cancel mass testing

Many Chinese cities canceled large-scale coronavirus testing this week after Beijing partially relaxed its strict zero COVID-19 policy, raising expectations for a reopening country.

The National Health Commission on Friday released guidelines to “optimize” zero covid policy, such as easing some restrictions to reduce its social and economic impact.

China registered more than 20,000 new infections on Wednesday, the highest number since April, with major outbreaks in the cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing.

Batch PCR tests are an important tool for tracking infections, and cities like Beijing and Shanghai require a 72-hour test to enter public areas or use public transport.

But Shanghai lifted the mandatory batch test on Sunday, China News Service reported, citing unnamed officials.

The sources stated that testing will be done “only when the source and chain of transmission is not clear and has spread over a long period of time in the community.”

Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million people in northern Hebei province, also announced on Sunday that it would adopt 20 measures.

According to local officials quoted by China Newsweek, this includes canceling routine mass testing outside of “key groups”.

However, a Shijiazhuang Communist Party official announced on Monday that the new measures are not a “total relaxation” of restrictions against the coronavirus.

Social media users reacted with joy and concern, complaining that other local governments were unable to send packages from Shijiazhuang due to strict health checks.

“I’m speechless, why don’t they open up the whole country instead of using Shijiazhuang as a testing ground,” a local resident posted on the Chinese social network Weibo. she asked. Other cities, such as Yanki in the northeast and Hefei in the east, also canceled routine batch tests this week.

The new measures also call on local governments to “correct unscientific practices, such as having two or three tests a day.”

Authorities announced that the city of Ghulja in northwest Xinjiang will resume normal life and work on Wednesday, lifting the strict three-month restriction that has led to food shortages.