SHANGHAI: Beijing residents cheered the removal of COVID-19 testing booths while Shenzhen followed other cities in announcing it would no longer require commuters to present their test results to travel, as an easing of China’s virus curbs gathered pace.
Although daily cases hover near all-time highs, some cities are taking steps to loosen COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules as China looks to make its zero-COVID policy more targeted amid an economic slowdown and public frustration that has boiled over into unrest.
The southern city of Shenzhen announced it would no longer require people to show a negative COVID-19 test result to use public transport or enter parks, following similar moves by Chengdu and Tianjin.
Many testing booths in the Chinese capital of Beijing have also been shut, as the city stops demanding negative test results as a condition to enter places such as supermarkets and prepares to do so for subways from Monday. Many other venues including offices still require testing.
A video showing workers in Beijing removing a testing booth by crane on to a truck went viral on Chinese social media on Friday.
“This should have been taken away earlier!” said one commentator. “Banished to history,” said another.
Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the footage. At some of the remaining booths, however, residents grumbled about hour-long queues for the tests due to the closures.
CHINA OUTLIER
Three years into the pandemic, China has been a global outlier with its zero-tolerance approach towards COVID-19 which has seen it enforce lockdowns and frequent virus testing. It says that the measures are needed to save lives and avoid overwhelming its healthcare system.
China began tweaking its approach last month, urging localities to become more targeted. Initial reactions, however, were marked with confusion and even tighter lockdowns as cities scrambled to keep a lid on rising cases.
Then a deadly apartment fire last month in the far western city of Urumqi sparked dozens of protests against COVID-19 curbs in a wave unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
Authorities detained several people who participated in the protests and police in cities such as Shanghai have been checking commuters’ phones for apps or virtual private network software that protesters used to communicate, according to protesters and social media posts.
On Saturday, police kept a heavy presence around Liangmaqiao junction in east Beijing, as authorities sought to put off any potential follow-up to last weekend’s unrest.
A similarly large police presence could be seen on streets close to Shanghai’s Wulumuqi Road, which is named after Urumqi and was the site of a vigil for the victims of the fire that turned into protests last weekend.
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