On Tuesday in Beijing, the capital of China, various restrictions for the coronavirus will be eased, after the large and unprecedented protests of the last few weeks by the population against the lockdowns: people will be able to access supermarkets, offices and airports without having to show a negative swab to the coronavirus.
These are some of the first easing of the restrictions communicated by the Chinese government, which according to various international media could increase in the coming days: Reuters writes for example that 10 new nationwide measures are expected to be announced on Wednesday that go in the same direction, according to two of his sources familiar with the matter. In general it seems that the authorities are trying to communicate a certain change of mentality, at least on the surface: the government media speak of Beijing “preparing for life again” and for the first time mention a gradual return to normality.
To date, China has rigidly maintained its “zero COVID” strategy, which provides for the complete elimination of all outbreaks with strict lockdowns and blanket swabs: this strategy has led to protests in recent weeks, in some cases even violent, which have been the greatest form of dissent towards President Xi Jinping. The protests were also violently repressed by the Chinese authorities and were essentially put down.
