STORY: On Friday, China slightly eased its tough course to combat the corona pandemic, including shortening the quarantine times and refraining from tracking so-called secondary contacts in the future. Some passers-by breathed a sigh of relief in Beijing on Saturday and they are slowly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel again. “If measures to prevent epidemics are gradually relaxed, our lives will change significantly in a short time. Many restrictions will eventually be lifted. And then we will return to the situation we had three years ago. I work in the medical field and believe that we will probably continue to struggle with the consequences of Covid 19.” “As far as the current situation is concerned because of the Covid 19 pandemic, a full reopening is still unrealistic at the moment. But we can assume that things will get better in the future – thanks to vaccinations and better treatment options. If we only solve the problem once overcome, the general situation, including the economy, business and travel, will improve significantly.” However, the corona numbers in China are currently increasing. The authorities report the highest number of new infections since the end of April. The National Health Commission registers around 12,000 new cases after around 10,000 infections the previous day. For comparison: According to the Robert Koch Institute, in Germany alone the number of known infections rose by around 28,000 to over 36 million. The corona numbers in China are therefore rather low in a global comparison. But the government’s tough zero-Covid policy has weighed heavily on the world’s second-largest economy and led to increased resentment among the population.