Status: 16.11.2022 11:10 a.m
The number of corona infections in China is higher than it has been since April. But the government recently announced easing. After years of the zero-Covid policy, this creates uncertainty.
It’s images of chaotic scenes that were circulating the internet earlier this week. to You can see how people in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou storm through the streets, break through barriers and protest together with the helpers dressed in white protective suits.
The city of around 15 million people is partially cordoned off. It is currently the city with the most infections in China, which has fueled speculation that local lockdowns may be expanding. Most recently, more than 6,000 new infections a day were reported there.
Many new infections – many conflicting policies
While China is struggling with the biggest corona outbreak since spring, the corona policy of the Chinese state and party leadership could not be more contradictory.
Only about a week ago, China announced easing and restructuring of its corona policy – even though the number of new infections in the country is higher than it has been since the lockdown in Shanghai in April. The entry quarantine, for example, has been reduced to five days in a central facility and testing is to be more targeted – no longer in regular mass tests.
Close test stations
In the capital Beijing, for example, some of the corona test stations have already been closed in the past few days, which has caused astonishment among the residents.
Because at the same time they had to show a negative test result in the supermarket, in the restaurant and on public transport. As a result, there were long queues at the remaining test stations.
For three years, such images were commonplace in China. That should change now.
Image: REUTERS
The new regulations are still unclear
The future path of Chinese corona policy does not seem to have been precisely defined yet, and this is causing confusion in various cities.
In Beijing, residents are skeptical about a possible opening of the country. “I think the government will only ease the restrictions gradually and not too suddenly. It’s going slowly, step by step,” says one in an interview with the Reuters news agency.
Another resident would like an opening, “but I think we have to remain vigilant even after the opening”. People all wanted to be safe. “I hope that the government can ensure that people are protected when the country opens up.”
First loosening as test balloons
The free corona test centers in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, which has eleven million people, have also been closed in the past few days. Some public transport, shopping malls, restaurants and office buildings no longer check whether there is a negative test result, as is customary in many cities.
Some therefore see the city as a test case for a gradual withdrawal from China’s strict zero-Covid strategy. This has now been reversed in both Shijiazhuang and Beijing, and some test stations have been reopened.