The lifting of lockdowns suggested an easing of the stringent measures that protesters had rallied against. It followed the easing of lockdowns across 11 districts in Guangzhou on Wednesday, despite both cities reporting rising cases. On Thursday, 24 districts in Shanghai designated as “high risk” were released from lockdown measures, state media said. Authorities will also increase antigen tests for the new variant and reduce the frequency of mass testing and regular nucleic acid tests, the report said.Ĭhina reported 36,061 Covid cases on Wednesday, a slight drop on Tuesday’s 37,828. Close contacts of the cases will also be allowed to isolate at home if their home environment meets certain conditions, Reuters said. Not all positive cases will be allowed to quarantine at home unconditionally, but pregnant women, elderly people and those with underlying illnesses will qualify to isolate at home, the news agency said, citing unnamed sources.
In a further potential loosening of restrictions, China may soon allow some people who test positive for Covid to quarantine at home, Reuters reported on Thursday. More than 90% of China’s population has received at least two doses of a vaccine, but the rate drops sharply among elderly demographics, especially those over 80.
The shift in tone comes alongside a new vaccination drive aimed at elderly people announced on Tuesday. State media has also begun to publish reassurances that the public should not panic over Omicron.
Only in recent days have Chinese officials begun to emphasise the lower severity of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Like the health officials who addressed the country on Tuesday, she did not refer to the “dynamic zero-Covid” policy by name, but instead emphasised vaccinations and other measures. Sun said China was taking a more “humane approach” with its outbreak responses. Sun was attending a roundtable meeting of health experts, who Xinhua said praised China’s efforts before offering suggestions on “improving” current measures. “With the decreasing pathogenicity of the Omicron variant, the increasing vaccination rate and the accumulating experience of outbreak control and prevention, China’s pandemic containment faces a new stage and mission,” Sun reportedly said.
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