China’s Easing Covid Policies After Mass Protests

 by Jiali Hicks

Just a week after nationwide protests, China is lifting some of its most stringent Covid policies.

People no longer need to quarantine in state facilities or be forced into quarantine camps if their health code turns red.

To us, the easing of these restrictions seems long overdue, but to some Chinese citizens, who have lived with them for 3 years of their lives, there is a fog of uncertainty and concern as this blanket of protection is being lifted.

One of my mother’s friends posted on Weixin (a Chinese messaging and social media app) that he is more scared than ever to go outside as there is no way of telling who has a  positive case or not, even though he and the majority of the population have been fully vaccinated against the virus. 

You do not need to scan your health code before entering shops or other public areas anymore. Though places like hospitals, schools and nursing homes still require you to test before visiting.

You are also expected to treat any Covid cases at home, only contacting a hospital if symptoms are severe (like in the UK). 

This has sent citizens into a frenzy. Medicines like paracetamol and ibuprofen are constantly out of stock as people swarm shops, stocking up on home testing kits and fever relieving medication in fear that they will run out.

My cousin told me that she has seen people with luggage bags in tow, ready to bulk buy anything available on the shelves.

Of course, many are relieved about the loosening of a policy that has controlled their lives for the past 3 years, but why has it taken this long for government to take action?

Protesting against the government and against the Communist Party is highly dangerous in China, so it’s hard to explain just how shocking it is to hear a crowd in Shanghai calling for China’s leader Xi Jinping to resign.

It seems as if the sudden easing of restrictions is the government’s response to those protests, although it was not directly addressed. And if no one spoke out, would the people of China continue to live in the same, harsh conditions?

My friend in Nanjing sent me a video depicting a scandal about a company who produced Covid tests. The text reads:

“During the pandemic in Chongqing, a testing agency hired several people with positive Covid tests to mix with the crowd and was discovered by others. The police were called and one person confessed that the company hired him with a pay of several hundred yuan a day to spread the virus, resulting in continuous positive cases in the area and non-stop regional testing, so the company can profit from it.”

It’s appalling news. I asked her when it was filmed. She said it’s been circling social media for a few months now. 

Why did the government not respond to this crisis sooner?