Ticket sales for tourist and leisure spots soar as the government gradually moves towards living with the virus
People sit outside a cafe after some curbs were lifted as coronavirus disease outbreaks continue in Beijing on December 7 2022. Picture: REUTERS/THOMAS PETERAs many Chinese embraced new freedoms on Thursday after the country dropped key parts of its tough zero-Covid-19 regime, there was mounting concern that a virus that had largely been kept in check, could soon run wild.
Without saying it was a response to those protests, some cities and regions began relaxing Covid-19 controls, in moves that heralded a nationwide loosening of the rules unveiled by the National Health Commission on Wednesday. Various multimillion-dollar projects to build testing laboratories across the country, from Shandong province in the east to Sichuan in the southwest, have been scrapped as China cut down the need for testing, Shanghai government-backed news outlet The Paper reported.
There has been no mention of China’s “zero-Covid” policy in recent announcements, raising suspicions that the term is becoming defunct as the government gradually moves the country towards a state of living with the virus. Top officials have also been softening their tone on the dangers posed by the virus.
“It [China] may have to pay for its procrastination on embracing a ‘living with Covid-19’ approach,” Nomura analysts said in a note on Thursday. Infection rates in China are only about 0.13%, “far from the level needed for herd immunity”, Nomura said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Business Maverick: Oil Halts Losses as China Covid Shift Reduces Demand ConcernsAfter three days of big losses, the oil market is finally taking a bit of a breather. Prices drifted within little changed territory as traders took a pause to assess whether further signs of China’s economy reopening could help support demand.
Read more »
China announces nationwide loosening of COVID restrictionsAnger over China's zero-COVID policy which involved mass lockdowns, constant testing and quarantines even for people who are not infected stoked unrest not seen since the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
Read more »
China relaxes Covid-19 restrictions after widespread protestsChinese authorities are accelerating a shift towards reopening the economy after nationwide demonstrations against tough zero-Covid policies
Read more »
China announces nationwide loosening of COVID-19 restrictionsChina announced Wednesday a nationwide loosening of COVID-19 restrictions following protests against the hardline strategy that grew into calls for greater political freedoms.
Read more »
Business Maverick: China to ease quarantine, mass testing in nationwide Covid moveChina is set to announce a further relaxation of Covid control measures as soon as today — including allowing some infected people to home quarantine as a nationwide policy, and reining in unnecessary testing — according to people familiar with the matter, as the government continues to quickly ease its zero-tolerance strategy amid growing public discontent.
Read more »
Apple is ready to leave China as Covid protests delay iPhones past Christmas | Business InsiderApple indicated it wants to end its reliance on China for production, but doing so will take a long time and won't be cheap. | BISouthAfrica
Read more »