BEIJING: China’s capital Beijing on Tuesday lifted the requirement for people to show a negative COVID test to enter supermarkets and offices, the latest easing of restrictions across the country after last month’s landmark protests. .
“Beijing braces itself for life again” read a headline in the state-owned China Daily newspaper, adding that people were “gradually accepting” a gradual return to normalcy.
The signs of further loosening come after a series of protests last month that marked the biggest show of public discontent in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
“This could be the first step towards reopening from this pandemic,” Beijing resident Hu Dongsu, 27, told Reuters as he exchanged his travel card to enter a train station in the capital, which used the subway. The need for boarding tests has also been done away with. .
The change came as top officials softened their tone on the severity of the virus, bringing China closer to what other countries have been saying for more than a year as they ease restrictions and deal with the virus. Chose to stay.
Read more: Chinese cities stop easily but complete zero-covid exit seems a long way off
China could announce up to 10 new nationwide easing measures as early as Wednesday, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as cities across the country lift local lockdowns.
That has raised hopes among investors for a broad reopening of the world’s second-largest economy that could boost global growth.
But despite assurances from authorities, passenger traffic in major cities such as Beijing and Chongqing remains at a fraction of previous levels.
Some are wary of catching the virus, especially the elderly, many of whom are unvaccinated, while there are also concerns about the strain on China’s fragile health system. may fall