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Dismantled barricades in Guangzhou: Corona restrictions are being relaxed in several Chinese metropolises
Photo: AP
Despite the high number of new infections, more and more corona regulations are being relaxed in China.
Test stations were closed and dismantled in the capital Beijing on Saturday.
From now on, a negative test is no longer necessary for going to the supermarket, and from Monday the subway can also be used again without such proof.
However, to enter offices and other buildings, it is still necessary to show that there is no corona infection.
Long queues therefore continued to form at the remaining test stations.
In Shenzhen, too, local public transport can be used again without a corona test, and access to parks is also possible without restrictions.
The cities of Chengdu and Tianjin had previously announced this.
Last weekend there were protests in many cities in China against President Xi Jinping's strict interpretation of the zero-Covid policy.
This is based in particular on comparatively long, strict lockdowns.
However, this is slowing down the world's second largest economy: the growth expected for this year is likely to be one of the weakest in almost half a century.
People are less and less willing to bow to the measures.
The recent wave of civil disobedience has been unprecedented.
A video has been circulating on Chinese social media showing workers in Beijing lifting a testing station onto a truck using a crane.
"This should have happened much earlier," said one comment.
"Banished to history," wrote another user.
It has not yet been verified whether the video is real.
"The goal is still to bring the number of cases close to zero."
According to insiders, the Chinese government is preparing further easing.
People who have tested positive for Corona should be allowed to isolate themselves at home under certain conditions.
According to analysts, however, this is not a fundamental change in corona policy.
A departure from the zero Covid strategy is not to be expected before March.
One of the prerequisites for this is the success of the recently intensified vaccination campaign for older people.
"It's much more about optimizing and saving costs," says an assessment by the economic research company Capital Economics.
"The goal is still to bring the number of cases close to zero."
On Saturday, China reported 32,827 locally transmitted new infections, almost 2,000 fewer than the day before.
Just a few days ago, the highest number of new infections since the beginning of the pandemic was reported, at over 40,000.
che/Reuters