ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.ArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon Mail ContactPath LayerPositive Arrow Politics After protests, Guangzhou and Chongqing roll back dining and travel restrictions  Restaurants in downtown Guangzhou reopened for indoor dining Thursday. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata) December 2, 2022 00:57 JST | China GUANGZHOU -- Two major Chinese cities moved Thursday to relax coronavirus control measures as frustration with the country's strict zero-COVID policy boils over into widespread public dissent. Central Guangzhou lifted its ban on indoor dining and scrapped PCR test requirements to enter many buildings. Chongqing loosened travel restrictions in some parts of the city. ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.ArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon Mail ContactPath LayerPositive Arrow China's hospitals, like this one in Shanghai, have been overrun with mostly elderly COVID-19 patients since strict antivirus restrictions were dropped in December. But data suggests infections have already peaked. © AP The Big Story Overloaded hospitals and morgues suggest true death toll is hidden and worst is to come January 11, 2023 06:00 JST | China SHANGHAI/BEIJING/HONG KONG -- For Cindy Wan and a group of her friends, the first order of business after recovering from COVID-19 was going to Shanghai's fashionable Jing'an clubbing district to hear Korean rap music, drink margaritas and celebrate what has become known simply as yangguole, or "having had COVID." Half listening to the band, a duet known as Crystal Bubble, the 20-something Wan said they were celebrating their "liberation" in a bar, uncharacteristically crowded for a Monday night on Jan. 9. "Feeling reborn is an exaggeration, but it is awesome," said Wan, a Shanghai college administrator. ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.ArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon Mail ContactPath LayerPositive Arrow Coronavirus But easing does not rule out return of epidemic curbs A woman in Beijing pulls up her face shield for a COVID test on Dec. 7. China announced an easing of the country's zero-COVID curbs that day. © AP December 8, 2022 02:19 JST | China BEIJING -- Chinese officials relented on the country's long-standing zero-COVID measures over concern about the severe economic damage caused by the strict curbs against movement. The government announced Wednesday a series of changes that ease the zero-COVID policy, including that individuals no longer need to provide a negative COVID test to travel around the country. ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.ArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon Mail ContactPath LayerPositive Arrow Coronavirus Health agency gives up tracing no-symptom cases as hospitals inundated The scene outside a fever clinic at Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing on Dec. 13: China's capital has been hit by a wave of infections. © Reuters December 14, 2022 17:35 JST | China SHANGHAI/HONG KONG -- China on Wednesday gave up reporting asymptomatic COVID-19 cases as hospitals in Beijing battled to keep up with a surge of infections, while a top economic planning meeting was reportedly delayed over health fears. Last week, the government announced a sharp pivot away from a zero-COVID policy that relied on years of mass lockdowns and testing to tamp down outbreaks. |
