Beijing and Tianjin scrap COVID-19 tests for public transport

Beijing: Several Chinese cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Shenzhen on Saturday scrapped the mandatory COVID-19 tests for public transport, as authorities softened their stance on the stringent Zero-COVID policy amid a spate of anti-government protests across the country.

Residents in Chengdu and Guangzhou no longer require to show Covid test results when entering most public places, the official media reported on Saturday.

On Friday, authorities in Beijing announced that 48-hour valid nucleic acid tests are no longer needed on buses and subways starting next Monday.

Passengers must, however, still keep their masks on, they said.

Shopping malls in Beijing will be open starting from December 3, although some still cannot provide dine-in services, for which a 48-hour test is required.

The marginal lifting of curbs came after last weekend's protests in several cities, including in Shanghai and Beijing against the draconian Zero-COVID lockdowns that are disrupting people's livelihoods.

The rare protests also included calls for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) to step down.

Acknowledging the protests, Xi told European Union (EU) President Charles Michel here on Thursday that the protests were carried out by students who were frustrated after three years of the pandemic.

"It was mainly students or teenagers in university," he is reported to have said, according to a report carried by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Friday.

This is the first time that Xi has commented on the public protests, which reportedly have rattled his government.

Following the protests, security has been intensified in all the major cities in China.

Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Ryan, Director WHO emergencies said his organisation was pleased to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions.

While referring to the protests, he told media in London on Friday that it is important that governments listen to their people when they are in pain, and WHO was glad to see China adjusting their current strategies in trying to recalibrate their response to fighting the virus.

The UN body in the past had termed China's zero-COVID strategy as not sustainable.

The COVID-19 first surfaced in the Chinese

city of Wuhan in December 2019 and later spiralled into a pandemic.