Covid restrictions lifted after unprecedented protests

The Chinese government’s controversial plan to impose a strict lockdown after new cases of Covid-19 appeared to be weakening as authorities signaled easing of restrictions following rare protests in several major cities.

At least seven districts in Guangzhou province, known as a manufacturing hub, lifted the lockdown on Wednesday. These include the city of Haizhou, which has seen the largest protests in recent days. Restrictions have been eased in the central city of Chongqing.

China’s Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is also overseeing the country’s anti-Covid campaign, said the virus is now weakening and its ability to have an impact is diminishing.

Speaking to China’s state media, he said, “The country needs a new situation and new measures in terms of epidemic prevention and control because the effectiveness of the Omicron virus is weakening, more and more people need to be vaccinated.” are being planted and experiments are being carried out to control the virus.”

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan’s statement is significant in the sense that it contradicts China’s official stance on imposing a very strict lockdown. However, other major economies of the world have ended the lockdown long ago.

Son did not mention the massive protests that have taken place in various parts of the country in recent days. However, despite the implementation of strict anti-epidemic policies, a record number of new Covid cases are being registered in China every day.

The government had announced a lockdown after new cases of Covid-19 came to light, leading to massive violent protests in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities. Security forces fired batons at protesters in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

China’s top security agency issued a warning Tuesday that officials would not stop “cracking down” against “infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces,” while civilian officials said Illegal and criminal acts, which will disrupt social order, will not be tolerated.”

In China, this recent movement is being described as the biggest wave of civil disobedience that the People’s Republic of China has faced since the Tiananmen tragedy in 1989. After the latest statement by China’s Vice Premier, it seems that the strict anti-Covid policy imposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the country may end soon.

According to the AFP news agency, analysts at the ANZ think tank believe the new regulations suggest “Chinese authorities are moving towards a ‘live with Covid’ stance as they now force quarantine centres. Instead of leaving, people have been allowed to ‘isolate at home’.”