What’s new: Life is gradually returning to normal in Guangzhou as the southern China metropolis eases Covid restrictions.
The city of nearly 19 million people reopened shops and restaurants, resumed public transportation and removed barriers installed outside communities to limit people’s movement Thursday, one day after the city government announced easing measures for Covid controls.
Guangzhou is still reporting more than 6,000 daily new infections, one of the worst-hit cities in China’s recent wave of outbreak.
People in Guangzhou are no longer required to present negative nucleic acid tests to enter public venues, though a green health code indicating no infection risk is needed, according to city officials.
The city will stop mass testing and instead apply varied testing requirements for people with different levels of risk exposure. Residents are encouraged to prepare antibody test kits at home for self-testing, said Zhang Yi, deputy chief of the city’s health administration, in a Tuesday press conference.
Guangzhou will adopt more targeted and precise measures to manage communities with infection risks and allow certain close contacts of Covid patients to isolate at home instead of at centralized quarantine sites, Zhang said. He also warned that the vaccination rate of the elderly remains low in the city, making them more vulnerable to the virus.
The context: Guangzhou, along with Chongqing and Zhengzhou, are cities taking the lead in China’s recent pivot from the stringent “zero-Covid” policy, despite rising cases in many parts of the country.
Chinese authorities have signaled a transition away from the country’s strict Covid curbs in recent days, reemphasizing a revised playbook that relies more on targeted measures to control the virus than the sweeping lockdowns that have taken a toll on the economy.
Guangzhou reported 6,312 new cases Wednesday, 685 fewer than the previous day. From Oct. 22 to Nov. 30, the city recorded more than 156,000 infections, 95% of which were asymptomatic.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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