There was growing concern that a virus that had been mostly contained may soon run wild as many Chinese welcomed new freedoms on Thursday after the country relaxed key stringent zero-Covid policy.
After three years of the epidemic, many Chinese people were ready for the country’s strict pandemic preventive measures to be relaxed and for China to join the rest of the globe in attempting to adapt to the virus.
Without mentioning the protests that arose last month, several cities and regions have begun dropping Covid-19 curbs, indicating a nationwide relaxation of the rules stated by the National Health Commission on Wednesday.
The NHC stated infected people with mild symptoms can quarantine at home and no longer need testing and health status checks on mobile apps for various activities, including travel.
According to official media, domestic tourism ticket sales have increased, and some people have even gone public on social media about having tested positive for the virus, which was previously taboo in China.
However, several warnings have been issued that China would most likely face a large-scale outbreak in the next one to two months as a result of the country’s relaxation of regulations.
China’s current Covid-related death toll of 5,235 is a minuscule fraction of its 1.4 billion population and extremely low by worldwide standards. If the exit is made too quickly, the cost might exceed $1.5 million, according to some analysts’ estimates.
Nevertheless, many people feel that life must go on despite the risks.
